My Former Enemy
by JarrettSoon
Summary: Set after the movie. What if Vanellope didn't forgive Taffyta? Vanellope has been restored as President of Sugar Rush. With new friends entering her life, she bullies Taffyta through her position. But even as a new danger arises, Vanellope must overcome her past with Taffyta to save Sugar Rush. I am accepting character and OCs! PLEASE REVIEW!
1. Vanellope's New Life

_This story is set in the Wreck-It Ralph universe after the end of the movie. I do not own any of the characters._

**Chapter 1: Vanellope's New Life**

Vanellope couldn't believe it. Just 24 hours ago, she was being taunted and bullied by all the racers of Sugar Rush. She was told she was a "glitch", an error, and that she was never meant to exist. But here she was, chatting and laughing with all her previous tormentors. Except Taffyta.

Taffyta Muttonfudge was one of the best racers in the game, and as a result, she had a proud and mean streak in her. After Turbo/King Candy had reprogrammed Sugar Rush, she had seen Vanellope as an easy target and led the rest of the racers in bullying Vanellope.

But after Wreck-It Ralph had crash-landed in Sugar Rush, Vanellope had bonded with the intimidating but good-hearted wrecker and Ralph and his colleague Fix-It Felix had helped Vanellope finish and win her first race since Turbo hijacked her game. Vanellope was restored to her rightful position as Princess of Sugar Rush, Turbo was destroyed, and all seemed well again.

But Vanellope just couldn't forget the past. Even though Taffyta had been apologizing and doing her best to make up for bullying Vanellope in the past, Vanellope still couldn't let go of the hurt and pain that Taffyta had inflicted on her.

Ralph and Felix had noticed her snubbing Taffyta during Felix's wedding and had tried to talk to her about it, but Vanellope just brushed their concerns aside with a cute smile and a few witty remarks. Ralph had told her, "Kid, you gotta let it go. Taffyta was wrong, but now you and your game are back to the way it's supposed to be. She would make a great friend for you."

Vanellope had responded, "Yeah, like the friend you were when you smashed up our cart?"

Ralph had given her a knowing smile and a wink, and left to perform his duties as best man, but Vanellope was unusually silent on the train ride back.

Suddenly her thoughts were interrupted by Taffyta. "Hey Van, do you wanna go check out the track? I could show you a few shortcuts I thought of!

"No thanks Taffyta. I've gotta get out of this stifling dress. Whew, I don't know what possessed the game creators to give me such a costume!"

"Oh, alright. Hey, Rancis and I are heading over to Tapper's. You wanna-"

Vanellope cut her off brusquely. "Listen girl, not now, okay? I've got a few things to take care of before the Random Roster Race." Vanellope quickly glitched away before Taffyta could continue.

Taffyta just stared after her with a wistful expression. "I wish she could just forgive me. I really am sorry", she thought.

_Something stirred beneath Sugar Rush. It was small, but hungry..._

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_This is my first attempt writing fiction. Please review and tell me what you think!_


	2. The New Guy

_Jerry Berry belongs to me. All other characters do not belong to me._

**Chapter 2: The New Guy**

_It was but a few hours old, but had already increased in size several times over. __It was greedily gobbling up mouthfuls of the rich chocolate ground. It slowly munched it's way toward the racetrack..._

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As Taffyta turned to head back home, she accidentally bumped into someone. She quickly turned to apologize. "I'm so sorry. I should be looking where I'm going!"

She turned to look into a pair of deep blue eyes. She had bumped into a good-looking boy slightly taller than her. He was dressed in a yellow T-shirt and ragged jeans. He gently said, "It's all right. Hey, are you a Sugar Rush racer?"

She brightened up and said," Yeah, I am. I'm Taffyta. What's your name?"

He smiled and said, "Just call me Jerry. Could you direct me to the leader or whoever's in charge of your game?"

Taffyta's mood sank again as she said, "President Vanellope von Schweetz. Just follow the road up the mountain to the castle. It's so big, you can't miss it."

Jerry replied, "Thank you very much. See you later!" as he jogged away.

Taffyta thought to herself," He's gorgeous. I wonder why he's looking for Vanellope?"

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Meanwhile, at the castle, Vanellope had quickly changed out of her dress back into her usual hoodie and leggings. She sighed in relief as she put away her princess dress. "Now, what was I going to do?" she thought. "Oh yeah, the code vault." She called out for Sour Bill and strode quickly towards the code vault. Sour Bill asked her in alarm," What are you trying to do, President?"

She remarked," Oh, nothing in particular. I just wanted to find out how Turbo could have reprogrammed the game so easily."

Sour Bill replied in his usual monotonous voice," I can tell you that without your going in there. He just disconnected the links to your code, locked up our memories, and attached his code to the central link."

Vanellope thought to herself," If I wanted to, I could reprogram Taffyta so that she would be a glitch! Then, she would finally know how I felt." With a grim smile, she asked Sour Bill for the combination to the lock. He firmly replied," No. There's no need to touch the codes."

Vanellope's eyes narrowed as she said," Sour Bill, I'm the President of Sugar Rush now. I have a right to go in there. Now, tell me the combination!"

Sour Bill quickly rushed away but Vanellope noticed that he was holding something tightly. She started after him but Wynnchel and Duncan, the royal donut guards entered the room saying," President, you have a visitor. Someone is requesting to meet you."

Vanellope answered, "Fine. Oh, and get me Sour Bill. I want to see him after I meet my guest. Who is it, anyway?"

Wynnchel replied," He's a stranger to this world, President."

Vanellope commanded, "Bring him in, then."

Her eyes opened wide as the boy, Jerry, walked in. She thought to herself, "Wow! He's really good-looking!" With a coy smile on her lips, she walked towards him. "How may I help you, young man?"

He started slightly and said, "Whoa, I wasn't expecting a little girl to be in charge of a game! But, I guess it makes sense after seeing your scenery." "Oh yes, my name is Jerry," he said with a bow.

Vanellope replied, "Well, Jerry, how can I help you?"

He looked at the floor and said, "I…well…I was, um, wondering if…um, I could become a racer in this game?"

Vanellope looked quizzically at him. "You mean, you're not a character anygame else?"

Jerry said,"Yeah. I'm just a reject racer. I was never accepted into any other racing game cause of my size and age. I've been wandering around, hoping to get accepted into a game, any game, and Sugar Rush is my last hope."

Vanellope's mind worked quickly. She said with a thoughtful expression," Well, Jerry, we have quite a full and competitive roster…" Jerry's heart sank further. "But, I know how it feels to be rejected, so, I'll let you join, IF you can match my racers."

Jerry's face lit up with a bright smile as he exclaimed," Thank you so much, Miss President! I will earn my place, I promise!"

Vanellope smiled amusedly and said, "No problem. Now, to business. Do you have a race name and cart?"

Jerry shook his head. "I was never accepted as a racer."

Vanellope thought quickly and called out,"Wynnchel, my scepter, please." The guard handed her the scepter and she tapped Jerry twice on the head. Golden light shone from his body and when it faded, he was dressed in a blue and gold jumpsuit and sitting in a freshly baked cart. Vanellope said with a lofty air, "I dub thee, JERRY BERRY!"

Inwardly she was thinking excitedly,"I am so going to get this guy!"

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_Please review!_


	3. Pre-Race

**Chapter 3: Pre-Race**

_Something moved, deep below the ground, unnoticed by anyone. Away from its home, and away from its kind, it knew only destruction. It began chewing up the ground beneath the second race zone, the Birthday Cake Mountain. Cracks appeared on the track, now extremely fragile and unstable…_

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Everyone was gathering at the Sugar Rush Speedway, waiting for the Random Roster Race to begin. The spectators were already making their presence felt, shouting out their favorite racers' names. The racers were psyching themselves up as they prepared to do battle for the nine spots on the roster for the arcade gamers to choose from.

The carts were lined up, but there were two conspicuous spots empty. One was at the back, prepared by order of the President. Rumors were spreading that there was a new racer entering. The other was in the front row, the spot usually occupied by Taffyta's Pink Lightning. And Taffyta herself was sitting quietly in the Racers' Lounge.

Candlehead, seeing her usually confident friend so downcast, bounced over to Taffyta, saying," Hey Taff, what's wrong? Aren't you excited about the race? There are even people saying there's gonna be a new racer! Oooh, I can't wait to see who it is! It would be so neat if it was a guy, and he- Taff, what's going on with you? Is there anything bothering you?"

Taffyta replied, "Oh, oh, I'm fine Can! Yeah, I just don't feel like racing today, that's all."

Snowanna and Jubileena both gasped. Rancis exclaimed, "That's ALL?! That's the biggest news since peanut butter met jelly!"

"Or since candles met fire! Are you feeling alright, Taff?" Candlehead asked in concern.

Taffyta quickly glanced around and said, "It's Vanellope. I keep trying to apologize to her, but she still hates me! I can see it in her eyes and behavior. I just don't think I'll race today, okay?"

Minty Zaki looked at her with determination. "Look Taffy, we're not going out there without you. You may not feel like it, but you're still one of the most popular racers. The game won't seem the same without you. Just give Vanellope a bit of time and she and you will be alright. Now, we've got a race to complete, okay?"

Taffyta smiled up at her. "Thanks Minty. You sure know how to cheer a girl up."

Minty returned the smile and walked away.

Just then, Jerry Berry drove up. The racers looked up and started toward him, curious. Jubileena took the lead and held out her hand. "I'm Jubileena. Nice to meet you! What's your name?"

Jerry grinned, shook her hand, and introduced himself to all the racers. "My name is Jerry Berry. I'll be racing with all of you from now on."

Candlehead looked puzzled. "But don't you need permission from the President?"

"Oh, I was just speaking to her and she was kind enough to let me race in this game."

Jubileena squealed," Oh, that's great news! Come, let me show you around!" She grasped his coat and dragged him into the lounge. Taffyta turned, startled from her thoughts. Jubileena said," That's Taffyta Muttonfudge. She's a great racer! Taffyta, this is Jerry Berry!"

Jerry smiled and said," Yes, I've met her before."

Before Taffyta could reply, Jubileena jumped in. "Before? Taffyta, where did you meet him? And why didn't you tell us about such a handsome racer?!"

Taffyta, smiling at Jerry, said," I met him at the train station this afternoon. But I didn't know that he was going to join us then."

Rancis interrupted and said, "Hi, I'm Rancis. I look forward to having another guy on the roster!

Jerry replied, "Yeah. Shall we head outside? It looks like the race is going to start! I can't wait!"

Jubileena giggled. "You mean you've never raced before? What a pity!"

Jerry nodded. "Well, I've raced non-competitively before, but I've never been part of a real race. Oh, let me help you with that Taffyta."

Taffyta was pushing Pink Lightning to her designated position and smiled her thanks as Jerry added his strength to hers. Rancis tapped him on the shoulder and said, "It's ok, Jerry. Taffy and I should be able to handle this."

Jerry seemed amused. "Taffy?"

Taffyta blushed and said, "It's what my friends call me."

"Oh. Well then, see you two later!" Jerry said, as he jogged back to his cart.

"Bye!" "See you around bro!"

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_Please review!_


	4. Down He Goes!

_I want to apologize profusely for not updating for almost a week! I was busy with camp and many other things. Anyway, I am now accepting OCs. Leave a review describing your OC (name, personality, human controller, and any other bits of info) and I will work them into the story. Enjoy…_

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**Chapter 4: Down He Goes!**

Back at Vanellope's castle, she had just seen Jerry Berry out the door and pointed him towards the track. With a start, she realized that it was almost time for the RRR to start! "Crumbs!" she exclaimed. "I'm gonna be late!"

She quickly glitched towards the track as fast as she could. Arriving at her cart breathless, she made a quick announcement to the crowd. "The Random Roster Race will start in just a moment. But before that, I'd like to introduce our new racer. Jerry Berry has been granted a race spot by the President and will be racing in his first Random Roster Race! Please give him a warm sugary welcome!" She wriggled back into her cart and gunned the engine as the countoff began.

"Racers, start your engines." Sour Bill droned. Vanellope thought," I am so going to get that combination out of him after I win this race!"

"3, 2, 1, go." Sour Bill continued, waving the starter's flag in his usual depressed manner.

All the carts screamed away in a cloud of chocolate powder. When the dust cleared, Vanellope was leading the race, with Rancis and Candlehead hotly in pursuit. The racers that had everyone shocked were, again, Taffyta and Jerry. Taffyta was drawing attention because she had skidded out on the first corner, leaving her with a mountain to climb to make the top 9. Jerry, on the other hand was going great guns, with daring overtaking moves to shoot up to fifth.

As the racers entered the Gumball Gully, the leading pack were: Vanellope von Schweetz, Rancis Fluggerbutter, Candlehead, Gloyd Orangeboar, Jerry Berry, Jubileena Bing-Bing, and Snowanna Rainbeau.

Vanellope darted in and out of the giant gumballs, intent on protecting her lead, while the other racers sought an advantage by smashing into the Sugar Cubes for powerups. Rancis picked up Sweet Seekers and immediately took aim and fired behind him, taking out Candlehead and Gloyd. But as the last seeker screamed towards Jerry, he yanked his cart to the right, sliding behind a gumball. As the seeker made contact with the gumball, he activated his powerup, Sugar Surge, blasting him into the third position! The crowd screamed its approval of this new daredevil racer!

As the leaders shot toward the Birthday Cake, attention turned toward the trailing racers. Taffyta had finally gotten into her groove and was jostling with Snowanna and Adorabeezle Winterpop for position when a gumball swung right into their path. Taffyta spun her wheel desperately and sighed in relief when the gumball barely missed her and took out Snowanna instead. She steered toward the boost arrows, intent on catching the leaders.

The leading four were just about to begin their spiraling ascent of the Birthday Cake when suddenly, the track seemed to disintegrate right below their carts. Rancis, the race leader, tumbled into the crevasse. Vanellope quickly glitched after him, trying to catch him.

Jerry and Jubileena skidded to a stop on the very edge of the track. Jerry turned in horror to see Taffyta leading the other racers on toward the Birthday Cake. They hadn't noticed the accident! Jerry immediately fired up his engine and sped recklessly toward the incoming racers. Everyone screamed and slammed on their brakes as Jerry executed a donut right in front of them. Gloyd, furious with Jerry, strode over to Jerry. Staring him in the eye, Gloyd shouted," You could have wrecked us all! What's the big idea?"

Wordlessly, Jerry just gestured toward the hole just as Vanellope glitched out carrying Rancis. He was bleeding from a long cut across his forehead. Vanellope laid him down and the emergency team started patching him up. Taffyta and Candlehead gasped and hurried to his side.

To the side, Vanellope, Jerry, and Jubileena were worriedly discussing the incident. The rest of the racers gathered around them. Vanellope announced, "Due to this accident, we will not be continuing the race. The roster for tomorrow will be based on your positions before the stoppage. Thus, tomorrow's racers will be: Rancis Fluggerbutter, me (Vanellope), Jerry Berry, Jubileena Bing-Bing, Taffyta Muttonfudge, Gloyd Orangeboar, Adorabeezle Winterpop, Crumbelina di Caramello, and Swizzle Malarkey."

The head medic, a brawny Gummy Bear, whispered into Vanellope's ear. Vanellope nodded and thanked him. "Rancis will be alright, but he will not be able to race for a couple of days. Candlehead will enter the roster to replace Rancis."

Jerry looked at her, concerned. He asked Vanellope," What about you? Are you okay?"

Vanellope replied with a shy smile, "I'm fine. Just a few scratches, that's all." She grew serious. "The track's what I'm worried about now."

"What can we do?"

"We'll have to fill in the hole. I'll get a crew on this right away. Meanwhile, we'll close this place off and use another zone for tomorrow's racing."

"What could have caused this?"

"….." Vanellope gazed at the hole thoughtfully.

* * *

_The noise and commotion reached its ears. It scurried further away from the hole, eating its way along the bank of the chocolate milk river towards the Snowcone Mountains…._

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Please, please, please review! Yes, I am begging now!


	5. Big News

A great big thank you to all who reviewed! And here it is: THANK YOU! I'm accepting OCs, so if you have any ideas, please leave a review or PM describing name, personality, human controller, cart name, and any other info. This chapter is longer than the others, so you have more to enjoy ;-)

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**Chapter 5: Big News**

Vanellope alternated between covering her face and her ears. She had called a meeting of all Sugar Rush racers at her castle to discuss several important issues, but she just couldn't get them to listen to her. Taffyta, Candlehead, and a few of the girls were talking about Rancis' condition, Gloyd was arguing with Swizzle about the accident and the race course, while Jubileena, Minty, and the Recolors were trying to chat up Jerry.

Jerry was smiling at the eager girls and waiting for the meeting to start when he saw Vanellope's dilemma. Vanellope was trying to get everyone's attention, but not doing very well. "Hey guys? Guys! Everyone, listen up please! Hello!"

Suddenly, Jerry yelled," HEEEYYYYY!" The room fell deathly silent. He continued," Don't any of you have respect for our President? Or, at least some concern about what happened today?" Having made his point, he stared around the room sternly. Everyone was stunned at this, the first time the quiet and easy-going new racer had lost his temper.

He then turned to Vanellope and said," The stage is yours, Miss President," with a smile.

Vanellope replied, "Thank you, Jerry. Now, I called this emergency meeting to discuss with everyone several important things that you may or may not know about. Firstly, the accident at the Random Roster Race today. Rancis was hurt when the track disintegrated at the entry bridge to the Birthday Cake. He'll be fine, but he won't be racing for a couple of days.

Repairs to the bridge will take about four days. We'll have to reconfigure the racetrack slightly while repairing the bridge. I'm proposing this course: Gumball Gully, Snowcone Mountains, Caramel Swamp and finally to Soda Geyser Field."

Adorabeezle spoke up. "Um, why don't we try using Diet Cola Mountain as a zone?"

Pandemonium broke out again as everyone started chattering about their favored zones but the room fell silent just as quickly when Jerry stood up and cleared his throat. Seeing everyone's scared faces, he grinned and sat back down. Vanellope chuckled to herself and asked everyone for their opinion, one by one. She went round the table, starting from Adorabeezle. When she came to Taffyta, Vanellope quickly skipped to Torvald, ignoring Taffyta just as she opened her mouth. Everyone exchanged glances at this obvious snub.

It turned out that the majority of the racers favored using Gumball Gully, Snowcone Mountains, Caramel Swamp, and Diet Cola Mountain.

Vanellope was about to move on when Gloyd banged on the table. He retorted, "Aren't you forgetting the most important part of this issue? How did that bridge collapse anyway? And is any other part of the track safe after this? We have to make sure that this doesn't happen again. What if this kind of accident happens during arcade hours? What's going to happen to our game?"

Vanellope thought for a moment and replied, "The construction crew believes that the bridge was simply eroded by the chocolate milk river. They're going to make a few changes to stabilize the entire structure. I'm sending a safety team to examine every zone before the arcade opens tomorrow. Don't worry, okay?"

Gloyd muttered," With such an inept leader, who can stop worrying?" He looked up to see Jerry glaring at him.

Jerry replied through clenched teeth, "Watch it, Orangeboar. Vanellope is President and deserves your respect. Or are you saying you could do a better job than her?"

"Yeah, I probably could, Berryboy! You're just standing up for her 'cause you like her."

"I like and treat everyone here the same, Gloyd. If anyone steps out of line, I tell them so. If you deserve my respect, I give it to you freely."

Vanellope interjected before the argument escalated." Gloyd, why don't you supervise the safety inspection? Maybe that would ease your mind. And Jerry, please help me to supervise the reconfiguration of the racetrack. Make sure the marshals are briefed and the signs are clear."

Gloyd nodded and threw a triumphant look at Jerry who just ignored him and addressed Vanellope. "Of course, President."

Vanellope continued," Now here's some news you might not have heard. Jerry found out about an upgrade to our game. I'll let him talk about it."

Jerry stood up and said, "Racers, I overheard some Mario Kart racers talking about an upgrade to Sugar Rush. I introduced myself and asked them about it."

"Apparently, our designers have come up with an update that involves a Sugar Rush game on PlayStation and XBOX. Players will be able to create their own racers and carts on a story mode and save it to a USB. They then can bring their USB to the arcade and play as their own racer."

Minty asked, "How does this affect us established racers?"

Vanellope replied," We will still race as usual. We'll only be welcoming some new racers to our tracks. The game will have some tracks unavailable on the console game and some exclusive missions, too. Our popularity should be boosted!"

Everyone started chattering happily when Jerry said, "Only one thing: our machine has to be replaced. There will be a data download to the new machine this Sunday morning at 7 a.m., so please have all your belongings packed and be ready to move."

Vanellope wrapped up the meeting by saying," That's it for tonight…..oh wait! I forgot one last thing. Jerry doesn't have a place to stay yet. Does anyone have a suggestion?"

All the girls started squealing, "Me! Me! He can stay with me! I've got space!"

Jerry smiled and said," Thanks for your offers, but I talked with Swizzle already and he's willing to let me stay with him while Rancis recovers, so I'm set."

All the girls sighed in disappointment.

Vanellope said, "Well, I guess that's everything for tonight. See you tomorrow at the track, racers!"

Everyone filed out chattering. Vanellope caught hold of Jerry before he left with Swizzle and said, "Jerry, can I have a few words with you?" Before he could respond, Swizzle teased," Of course you can! I'll just wait outside for you two. Have fun!"

Jerry smiled and punched him on the shoulder as Swizzle dodged away, laughing. Vanellope shut the door on Swizzle and turned to Jerry. She said with a cute smile, "Thanks for your help just now, Jerry. I couldn't have gotten their attention as quickly as you did. And thanks for sticking up for me, too."

Jerry replied, "Yeah, um….about that….er, I…..I actually wanted to apologize for losing my temper just now. I didn't set a good example as the newest and oldest racer."

Vanellope replied, "It's okay. I think everyone actually likes and respects you more now!"

"Well, except for Gloyd…."

"Oh, don't mind him. He's just a real hothead at times." Struck by a sudden thought, Vanellope asked, "Hey Jerry, didn't you say that you'll be staying with Swizzle 'till Rancis recovers? Where will you stay after that?"

Jerry replied, "Hmm? Oh, I haven't really thought about that yet. I guess I'll cross that bridge when I come to it."

Vanellope said, "'Cause the castle does have a lot of empty space…..I could set you up with a room here, you know."

"Wow, an offer I can't refuse! Seriously, that's really nice of you. Thanks! If Swizzle and Rancis can't keep me, I guess I might take you up on your offer."

Vanellope replied, "Don't mention it. So, goodnight then?"

Affecting a British accent, Jerry replied with a deep bow, "Goodnight it is then, Madame President." They both giggled.

Vanellope saw the two boys out the front door and shut it. She started squealing and jumping about. "I can't believe he accepted! He's going to stay here! Oh, I can't believe it!"

She was so caught up in her jubilations that she didn't notice Sour Bill and Wreck-It Ralph standing in front of her.

Sour Bill droned, "You have a visitor, President."

Ralph exclaimed, "Hey kid! Why are you still up? It's already past your bedtime."

Vanellope replied, still bouncing around, "Why are you here, Captain Underpants? And what are you talking about? I don't have a bedtime, silly."

"Well, now you do, President Fartfeathers. And you had better be headed to your room right now."

"Says who?"

"Says the Stinkbrain. Do I have to threaten you with broccoli?"

Vanellope shrieked. "You wouldn't!"

Ralph just smirked. "I would."

Vanellope grudgingly headed for her bedroom when she remembered the code vault. She stared daggers at Sour Bill, who slowly realized what was happening. He gasped and streaked away, hotly pursued by Vanellope who was screaming, "Sour Bill!"

Ralph stared for a moment before shouting, "VANELLOPE!" and beginning HIS pursuit of Vanellope!

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Review please? Please, please, pretty please with a cherry on top? And Puss in Boots' large cute pleading eyes too?


	6. Look Out!

**Chapter 6: Look Out!**

All the racers were at the speedway by dawn save for Gloyd, Jerry, and Vanellope. Gloyd was with the safety team at the Caramel Swamp, checking for danger spots where accidents could occur. Jerry was briefing the marshmallow marshals on the rezoned course.

And Vanellope? She was still fast asleep, dreaming about her crush, Jerry, when Sour Bill knocked on her room door, rousing her from her pleasant dreams. "President, you're going to be late for the arcade opening!"

Vanellope glanced at her cocoa clock. "Leaping lollipops! I'm very, very late!" she thought. She threw on her hoodie and leggings and rushed out the door. As she raced out the front door, Sour Bill tapped her shoulder with her cart keys. "You might want to take these along", he said.

Rolling her eyes, Vanellope snatched the keys away and jumped into her cart thinking dreamily about Jerry when she noticed Sour Bill still standing and watching her. She turned around and gave Sour Bill a steely glare. He quickly shut the castle door. Vanellope started steaming again about last night.

Ralph had followed through with his threat of using broccoli on her when she had ignored him and kept up her pursuit of Sour Bill. She had cornered Sour Bill, when he threatened to tell Ralph about this matter. That had stumped her for a few moments. As she was trying to decide what to do, Ralph had grabbed her from behind, stuffed a whole broccoli into her mouth, and marched her off to bed. She spat out the broccoli almost immediately, but the taste had lingered even after she had brushed her teeth with her favorite peppermint toothpaste three times! Vanellope frowned grimly as she plotted her revenge on Sour Bill.

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At the Lounge, Taffyta was sitting quietly on her own again. Jubileena tried to cheer her up but didn't really get anywhere. Minty sat down beside her and asked, "What's wrong, Taff?"

With a sigh, Taffyta answered, "You saw how Vanellope was yesterday. She deliberately skipped me. She still hates me and I don't think there's anything I can do to change it."

Crumbelina asked, "Is there anything we can do to help? Vanellope's behavior is just not right!"

Taffyta replied, "Thanks, but I don't think she'd listen to any one of you."

Jubileena asked, half-jokingly, "What about Jerry?"

Everyone turned to look at her. She stammered, "Uhhh…never mind."

Minty cried, "No! That's a great idea. If anyone can get through to Vanellope, it'd be Jerry!"

Swizzle remarked, "You got that right. You should have heard the two of them last night! Taffyta, you should talk to Jerry."

Suddenly, a voice from behind them spoke. "Talk to me about what?"

Everyone jumped and spun around to see Jerry standing in the doorway.

Swizzle was the first to speak. "Hey Jerry! You're done already?"

Jerry jumped as Gloyd snapped from behind him, "He'd better be! His job is a piece of cake compared to what I've been doing."

Crumbelina said soothingly, "Thanks for checking up on the safety crews, Gloyd. It really is an important and difficult job."

Gloyd smiled shyly, saying, "Oh, it wasn't really that hard."

Everyone jumped again as Vanellope spoke from outside. "Hey! Racers! Why aren't you getting ready? The arcade's open!"

Everyone dashed outside and jumped into their carts just as the quarter alert sounded. Vanellope called over to Jerry, "The course?"

Jerry nodded, smiling. She looked over to Gloyd who nodded and turned his eyes back to the screen.

Two kids, a boy and a girl, were preparing to race. The girl chose Vanellope immediately while the boy, surprised to see Jerry, leaned over and spoke to the girl, saying, "Look, Bri! There's a new racer."

The girl replied, "Strange! I thought this machine hasn't been upgraded yet. What's he doing there?"

Curious, the boy selected Jerry. Vanellope and Jerry smiled at each other as the count-off began.

"3, 2, 1, GO!"

Vanellope and Jerry roared into the lead with Candlehead and Crumbelina hot on their exhaust. Taffyta was battling with Adorabeezle for fifth. It stayed this way until they reached the Gumball Gully. The racers darted in and out of the gumballs but a few were not so lucky. Candlehead and Jubileena were among those knocked out.

The Sugar Cubes soon came into sight and the players aimed right for them. The girl, Bri, picked up Hot Fudge, a powerup which laid down a sticky and slippery trail of boiling fudge. The boy picked up Sweet Seekers and took aim at the girl, but ran into trouble with the fudge before he could fire. The girl laughed and shot off toward the Snowcone Mountains. The boy quickly freed himself and picked off Gloyd, Snowanna, and Minty who had nipped in front of him. He resumed his chase determinedly.

Vanellope and her player, Bri, were having a great time as only Adorabeezle could keep up with them in the wintry conditions. Vanellope drifted around the corners smoothly under her player's expert handling and soon entered Caramel Swamp.

Meanwhile, Jerry was steadily hunting down Crumbelina who was struggling to keep her car under control. Jerry's player skillfully nicked Crumbelina's right rear wheel as he passed her on the outside, sending her spinning off the track, crashing into the side of the mountain. Jerry immediately showed his displeasure at the sneaky move by braking, slowing his cart down. He glanced behind him to make sure Crumbelina was okay. To his horror, an avalanche was rumbling down the mountain straight toward Crumbelina! He screamed at the top of his lungs, "LOOK OUT, CRUMBELINA!"

She looked up from trying to free her cart, stuck in a snowdrift. Seeing the avalanche, she screamed!


	7. AVALANCHE!

I apologize for not responding to the reviews cuz I was rushing in the previous chapter. Anyway, my responses for chapters 5 and 6:

Chapter 5:

_Ojaminator:_ Thanks for your compliment! Hope you keep enjoying my story!

_SargeTJCalhoun:_ Thanks-I will keep going! And about Jerry-really? Hmmm, I'll need to think about that.

_GoldenHeartz11:_ Vanellope is rather mean to Taffyta. But you never know, it could change ;-)

Chapter 6:

_Guest:_ Haha I like it too! I'll come up with more candy-related exclamations! Oh, btw, could you leave a name next time? I like to know who I respond to.

* * *

**Chapter 7: AVALANCHE!**

Crumbelina jumped out of her cart and started running away as fast as she could. Jerry immediately got on his radio. "Hey guys! There's been an avalanche in Zone 2, the Snowcone Mountains!"

Vanellope immediately replied, "Was there anyone hurt?"

Jerry looked behind him again but the avalanche had completely blocked the track. He replied, "Crumbelina was running away but I don't know if she made it! Swizz, do you read?"

Swizzle replied, "I've managed to stop the other racers. It looks like we can clear the track. Can we get a crew out here immediately?"

Vanellope hissed, "What about the players? Won't they circle back too quickly? It's a three-lap race! Why don't we divert?"

Jerry replied, "We'll divert if we really need to. Vanellope, you and I need to make things harder for our players. Try to slow them down. Maybe we can hold them off long enough to clear the Snowcone track."

Vanellope smiled to herself as she pushed a secret button under her dashboard. Turbo had rigged every zone with booby traps while he was masquerading as King Candy for fear of losing. She had discovered them and wired the master control to her cart, "just in case" she had told herself. Now she activated EVERY SINGLE ONE! There were over ten different types of traps, including barriers, pits and other diabolical obstacles.

The girl dropped straight into a pit that opened up in front of her. "Hey!" she cried, as Vanellope respawned. The boy, however, was a lot more careful and managed to dodge most of the obstacles. As he entered the Caramel Swamp's first curve, Jerry deliberately under-steered, sending his cart skidding into the sticky caramel. "Aw, come on!" the boy complained.

The boy and girl struggled through the swamp as Taffyta and Adorabeezle exchanged the lead a few times. Suddenly, Taffyta lost control and skidded into a pool of caramel. She revved her engine but to no avail. Suddenly, she noticed that her cart was dissolving! The caramel was somehow melting her cart! She gingerly stepped out and started shoving her cart back onto the track. She managed to get it out and examined the cart. It still looked functional, so she hopped back in to continue the race.

The players were moving towards the final zone, Diet Cola Mountain, when Vanellope had an idea. She grinned to herself and called to Jerry, "Hey Jerry, watch this!"

She waited until her player had mounted the ramp across the diet cola hot springs and purposely glitched off target, missing the landing and falling towards the cave floor. Her cart smashed into pieces and 'GAME OVER' glowed on her player's screen. "That's not fair!" the girl complained.

The boy smirked. "Tough luck", he commented as he swerved up the curve before the ramp. Jerry, following Vanellope's lead, under-steered again, skidding off the ramp and tumbling to the cave floor too.

"Hey!" the boy cried. "Now I think there's something wrong with the game."

Jerry stepped out of the remains of his cart and dusted himself off. Listening to the kids talking, he felt bad for them. He called over to Vanellope, "Hey Vanellope, shouldn't we give them their money back? They didn't get to finish their game after all…"

Vanellope finished straightening her jacket. She thought for a moment and nodded. She pulled a small device from her pocket and tapped away for a few moments. Jerry waited expectantly.

The boy and girl were just getting up to leave when something flashed on the screen. A message read: Dear Players, thank you for playing Sugar Rush. Because you did not manage to finish your game, you will get your money back as a consolation. Thank you and please come back to play Sugar Rush again! As the boy and girl finished reading the message, their quarters came clinking out of the machines. "Cool!" they cried out at the same time. "But I'm still going to ask Mr. Litwak about that game. It was a lot harder than usual", the boy added as he walked off.

He soon returned with Mr. Litwak. He explained the situation to Mr. Litwak, who rubbed his chin, thinking. Mr. Litwak said thoughtfully, "Well, the only possibility I can think of is that someone set the difficulty level to 'Hard' and didn't change it back. I'll have a look at the game later." He pasted an 'Out Of Order' sticker on the screens.

Just at that moment, Swizzle's voice crackled out of Jerry's radio. "Jerry, the crew's just gotten here. We can't find Crumbelina! Also, why is there an 'Out Of Order' sticker on our machines? Everyone is panicking! What do we do?"

Vanellope replied, "Don't worry; we're on our way over. Try to keep everything under control until we get there!"

"Won't be easy, but I'll try. Just get here quick, okay?"

Jerry looked at Vanellope's cart and said, "Vanellope, you take my cart. I'll walk back."

Vanellope answered, "Don't be silly, we'll go together! Er, what I mean is, that, um, I'll, no!, we'll need your crowd-control skills to contain the chaos. Yeah, that's it!" she stammered out, embarrassed.

Jerry hid a smile and quickly turned serious again. "How are we going to manage that? My cart's only built for one and your cart is in no shape to use."

"I didn't come unprepared. All carts are actually built for two."

Jerry's jaw dropped. He stared speechless as Vanellope hit the horn on the steering wheel hard three times. It popped open to reveal a small button. When pushed, the cart extended itself to reveal a second seat behind the driver's. Vanellope smiled and asked Jerry, still standing there speechless, "Well, whatcha waitin' for, slowcoach? We've got a game to repair!" Jerry just shook his head and hopped into the back. Vanellope gunned the engine and they shot off toward the Snowcone Mountains.

* * *

_Its jaws worked twice as fast as usual. It was still eating after two solid hours! It just could not get enough of the cold, delicious, flavoured ice. Suddenly, it found itself sliding down the mountain. The ice, weakened by its feasting, rumbled downwards, carrying it along. It flailed wildly until it came to a stop, buried under tons of ice. It shook its head to refocus and began eating again, tunneling its way out…_

* * *

Sorry for not developing the plot much this chapter, but I've decided to try to stick to a thousand words a chapter. Oh, there's a piece of information in this chapter that's gonna prove crucial to the ending. Have fun figuring it out! Stay tuned...


	8. Get To The Bottom Of This

****_SargeTJCalhoun64_: Not a bother at all, please keep reviewing! Glad to know you're enjoying the story. Actually, I kind of suspected it was you...dun dun dun!

**Chapter 8: Get To The Bottom Of This**

Taffyta zoomed towards Diet Cola Mountain. Aiming her cart between the lollipops, she burst into the bowels of the tall bottle-shaped volcano. To her surprise, Adorabeezle's cart was idling beside the track. Taffyta throttled down beside her. Adorabeezle's head was bowed and her chest was heaving. Taffyta realized that she was crying! Taffyta got out of her car and gently spoke. "Dora, what's wrong?"

Adorabeezle looked up with a start. Her face was tear-streaked. She cried out, "Thank goodness you got here, Taffyta! Jerry told me to wait here to tell you the news!"

Confused, Taffyta asked, "What news? And why are you crying?"

Adorabeezle sniffled and continued, "There was an avalanche in the Snowcone Mountains. Crumbelina was involved and she's missing! Jerry and Vanellope were leaving just as I got here. He told me to wait here for you, otherwise you may not know where all the racers went. We've got to get going now!"

They both started their engines and headed towards the Snowcone Mountains at top speed.

* * *

Vanellope and Jerry skidded to a stop behind the small crowd gathered at the avalanche site. Everyone was talking loudly and many of the girls were crying. Swizzle was doing his best to do crowd control, shouting out reassuring statements. "Everyone please stay calm! The President is on her way! Yes, we're going to handle this situation. Don't worry about the 'Out Of Order' sticker! Everything is going to be okay! Yes, I'm sure!"

Vanellope and Jerry quickly strode through the crowd. "It's Vanellope! The President! Let her through!" the crowd cried as they parted for the duo.

Swizzle sighed in relief and stepped aside for Vanellope to take over. Vanellope climbed onto the hood of Swizzle's cart, the Tongue Twister, and called for order. Everyone started hurling questions at her immediately. She rolled her eyes at Jerry. He chuckled and mounted the hood. "HEEEEYYYY! EVEERRYOONNE! QUUIIIIIEEETTT!" he yelled at the top of his voice. His booming outburst silenced everyone immediately, much like at the racers' meeting. Vanellope gave him a sweet smile which he acknowledged with a nod and a bow.

As he hopped off the hood, Vanellope called out for the emergency crew leader. Gloyd and the brawny Gummy Bear came forward. Vanellope regarded Gloyd coldly. "You're not in the emergency team, Orangeboar, much less leading it."

Gloyd responded grimly, "You can't stop me. You put me in charge of safety, remember? Plus, Crumbelina's missing. I won't rest 'till she's found!"

Vanellope replied, "Yeah, I assigned you to safety, and this happened! Why should I still trust you?"

Gloyd stared at her stubbornly without saying a word. Jerry spoke up. "Hey Vanellope, why don't you let him help? Not be in charge, but, you know, _assist_ the leader? I'm sure it wouldn't hurt."

Vanellope just said, "Alright, whatever. Emergency crew, get started on clearing the track immediately and find a way to reinforce the trackside wall."

Gloyd burst out, "What about Crumbelina?!"

Vanellope fixed him with an annoyed glare. "I'm coming to that, alright! Every minute you delay me with interruptions is another minute before your girlfriend is found, pumpkinhead!"

That shut Gloyd up, although he still looked mutinous. Vanellope continued, "Next, can I have volunteers to form a crew focusing on Crumbelina?"

Every racer came forward as well as many of Crumbelina's fans. Vanellope, satisfied with the group, sent a third of them under Swizzle for supplies like licorice ropes and peppermint picks and shovels. In the meantime, she directed the rest to assist the Gummy Bear crew in clearing the track. She instructed all other bystanders to leave the zone.

The crew had almost finished clearing the track when Swizzle returned. Vanellope sent Jerry, Gloyd, and Swizzle to test the stability of the avalanche surface. After they had tested the slope, they considered it safe enough for the rest to work on. Vanellope divided the whole group into four teams, who would work for a half hour before the next team would take over.

Gloyd immediately knotted a rope around his waist and jumped into action, shoveling the ice away like a madman. The others, inspired by his determination/desperation, also focused all their energy into the search.

After an hour had gone by, everyone was starting to lose hope. There was no sign of Crumbelina at the site, and she hadn't turned up anywhere else.

Adorabeezle, working determinedly, suddenly felt her shovel hit something hard. She gasped so loudly that everyone turned to look at her. She dropped her shovel and dug with her hands. Suddenly, she screamed and fell as the snow caved in. Swizzle and Minty who were working beside her dived for her but missed.

Adorabeezle hit bottom and lay stunned for a few moments. Shaking her head, she looked around, dazed. With blurry vision, she looked around. The first thing she noticed was a sort of tunnel stretching away from the hole. The second thing was something dark brown sticking through the wall beside her. It looked familiar. Suddenly it struck her! Crumbelina's leggings! She quickly scrambled to her feet and called out to Jerry and Swizzle who were looking anxiously at her. "I think Crumbelina is here. Come and help me!"

Gloyd, hearing that, threw all caution to the wind and jumped straight down into the hole, a jump of about seven feet. Jerry let Swizzle carefully down using ropes. They quickly freed Crumbelina from the ice. Her face was pale and cold and she wasn't breathing! Jerry and the head Gummy Bear quickly hauled her up in an improvised sling. Gloyd scrambled out and frantically began CPR. The emergency crew took over, one of them holding Gloyd back. After several tense moments, Crumbelina started coughing and gasping. Adorabeezle and Gloyd knelt gratefully by her side, each holding her hand. The whole rescue team cheered for their successful effort!

* * *

Vanellope called another meeting in the castle immediately after Crumbelina had been stabilized in the hospital. Rancis, who was feeling better, had been discharged from the hospital and decided to attend.

Vanellope welcomed back Rancis to the racers. She quickly ran through the whole accident again with Jerry and Swizzle's help in filling in the gaps. Everyone's face was grim at this second near-tragedy in the same number of days. Vanellope concluded by saying, "Rancis' and Crumbelina's carts have been damaged by these incidents. Mine is also in bad condition. I'm going to have to call in Felix and Sergeant Calhoun."

Rancis spoke up. "I understand the part about Felix but not about the Sergeant. Why do you need her? I mean, I know they're married and everything, but why?"

Vanellope replied, "Because I think there's something going on. Two accidents in two days? Suspicious."

Gloyd spoke up quietly, "I agree. After these incidents, everyone's lives are in danger. Rancis, then Crumbelina; there's no telling who might be next." Everyone looked at him in surprise; he almost never agreed with an idea immediately.

Vanellope wrapped things up by saying, "Well, we'll get the Sergeant to do a perimeter check and try to make sure everything's okay for tomorrow. That reminds me, tomorrow's gonna be our last day of racing before the upgrade. So everyone, please get ready for the data transfer at Sunday 7 a.m. That's all for now."

* * *

_It was still eating when suddenly something hard whacked against its back. It shrieked in surprise and quickly scuttled back into the tunnel it had made. It heard something behind it and turned to look. A girl! She had fallen into the tunnel. It turned to devour her but another two boys dropped into the tunnel beside her. It considered things carefully before deciding to escape rather than attack..._

* * *

Please review! Please, please, please! Oh, the chapter title was an intended pun. I hope it works. Thank you for reading and hope you enjoyed this chapter!


	9. Investigation

_SargeTJCalhoun64_: Great to hear from you again! Thanks for your kind review and Hero's Cuties are going to play a bigger role in the story from now on! Stay tuned!

_Snikkey sugara_: Yeah! I kinda felt it was too easy…maybe I should drag out the suspense a bit more next time!

* * *

**Chapter 9: Investigation**

Vanellope and a representative group of racers strode into Game Central Station. She had chosen Jerry, Jubileena, Swizzle, and Adorabeezle to come with her. Gloyd, as usual, kicked up a fuss because he felt slighted by the exclusion. She assured him that the Sergeant and Felix would definitely be coming to Sugar Rush and she didn't want to crowd their home. He had grudgingly agreed after she pointed out that Crumbelina was in the hospital and Adorabeezle was coming with her.

Vanellope and her posse boarded the train to Fix-It Felix, Jr. and soon arrived. Vanellope saw Ralph walking home from the station and called out to him. "Hey Admiral Underpants! You've got visitors!"

Ralph turned around, overjoyed. "Well, if it isn't Baroness Boogerbreath! What brings you to East Niceland?"

Vanellope said, "I need to speak with Felix and the Sergeant. Are they at home?"

Ralph scratched his head. "I saw Felix heading out some time ago. Better check with Gene." He turned and yelled towards Niceland. "Hey Gene! You there?"

Gene popped his head out the window of the apartment. "Yeah Ralph? Oh, hey kids!"

Ralph called back, "They're looking for Felix and Sarge! Are they in?"

Gene replied, "Sorry guys! Felix is out. He told me he was headed to check on his missus. Try Hero's Duty!"

Vanellope sighed. "Come on peeps, guess we're headed to Warzone Central. See ya, Ralphie."

Ralph stared at her, puzzled. "Okay, this isn't you, Vanellope. What's bothering you?"

Vanellope just shook her head. "It isn't like you can help. Really, I'm fine, alright?"

Ralph crossed his arms and put on a mean face. "Okay, you're not leaving 'till you tell me what's going on."

Vanellope replied in a huff, "I don't have time for this, alright? Come on guys, we're leaving now."

Jerry interrupted, "Wait Vanellope, why don't we have Ralph come along with us. I can brief him on the situation on the way!"

Vanellope sighed in defeat. "All right then, let's go."

They reboarded the train and Jerry began telling Ralph about the happenings of the past two days. Ralph just listened quietly until Jerry finished. He merely commented, "You're new to Sugar Rush, aren't you?"

Jerry replied, "Well, yeah! President Vanellope was kind enough to let me race in her game, so, yeah, I am very new."

Adorabeezle cut in, "But also very good on the track!" Jerry chuckled self-consciously. Swizzle whispered teasingly, "And also very good with the ladies..."

Jerry said, "Hey!" and punched Swizzle's shoulder. "OW!" Swizzle cried. "Hit a guy when he's speaking the truth..." Jerry immediately jabbed him hard in the ribs. "OOWWW!" Swizzle cried again. "Especially with Vanellope..." Swizzle continued, watching Jerry's hands carefully. Jerry smiled...and stomped on Swizzle's foot! "OOOWWWWWW!" Swizzle yelled. "Just cool it, already, will ya? This isn't the right time!" Jerry said sternly to Swizzle. "Vanellope's stressed enough without having to worry about teasing!"

Adorabeezle grinned and said to Ralph, "See? Swizzle's right on the ball!" Jerry turned to stare at her...and turned away again. Swizzle complained, "That's not fair! You hit me and leave her alone. How does that work?"

Jerry sighed, "She's a girl. I don't go around hitting girls."

Swizzle added, "Or hitting on them...'cept for the President!"

Ralph, who was watching this humorous scene and trying to hold back laughter, suddenly turned serious. Putting on his angry face, he growled, "Everyone's right in one way. Swizzle, teasing has limits. Jerry, Swizzle's right about almost everything. Adorabeezle too. Jerry, I will speak to you personally about this..."

Vanellope cut into the tense situation by saying, "General Stinkbrain, enough with the 'protective father' act! Jerry doesn't know you well enough yet." Jerry sighed in relief. Vanellope continued, "Anyway, we're here. Hero's Duty." She started chuckling at the name (a personal joke). Ralph rolled his eyes.

The six of them disembarked and walked carefully into the game. Ralph, the most familiar with Hero's Duty, led them to the mess hall, where they'd find most soldiers. A huge wave of noise nearly bowled them over as Ralph pushed the door open. The scene that greeted their eyes was one of total havoc! The soldiers were eating, laughing and talking with/yelling at each other. Ralph cleared his throat and said, "Hello, excuse me, we're looking for-" Vanellope interrupted him with a cry. "FELIX!"

Felix was talking with Corporal Kohut, Sergeant Calhoun's second-in-command. He jumped and spun around when Vanellope tapped him on the shoulder. "Vanellope! It's good to see you!" he cried over the din. "Hey Ralph! Hey kids!" he greeted the rest of them. "What can I do for you?"

Vanellope screamed back, "It would be best if we got out of this place first! This place is loud enough to smash jawbreakers!"

Felix and Kohut escorted them to Calhoun's office. "So, how may I help you?" Felix asked.

Vanellope replied, "Bottom line, we need you and your wife to pay Sugar Rush a business visit." She gave Felix and Kohut a quick rundown of the accidents, with Jerry, Swizzle and Adorabeezle adding details.

Felix and Kohut looked at each other. Felix said, "Well kids, the problem is that Tamora is away. You see, Kohut was just telling me that she and a special task force left on a three-day mission. They're making a perimeter check and scan for Cy-Bug eggs outside the lab. She'll be back, uh, Corporal?"

Kohut saluted and responded, "Sir, they will be back tomorrow at 2100 hours, sir!"

Vanellope shook her head. "That's too late. We need someone now! Corporal, could you help us?"

Kohut shook his head. "Sorry kid, that's a negative. Sergeant Calhoun specifically commanded me to deputize for her, _here_. She'd pump twenty rounds into me and then throw me to the Cy-Bugs if I didn't follow orders! But, I can send Corporal Jameston with you. I'll instruct him to do a quick sweep. Would that be okay for you?"

Vanellope replied, "Well, I guess that'd have to do. Felix, you coming with us now?"

Felix thought for a moment and replied, "Sure! I'm not doing anything else now. Let's go!"

* * *

The group, now numbering eight with the addition of Jameston and Felix, headed back to Game Central Station. Suddenly, the whole station went dark! Adorabeezle screamed. So did many of the game characters now stranded in the pitch-black station. Vanellope grabbed her hand and tried to calm her. She realized that there was something glowing beside her. She turned to see that Jerry's racer suit was glowing!

Vanellope said, "Whoa. Nice costume."

Jerry replied, "Well, thanks. Not my style, but- Hey wait! You designed the suit; you knew about this, didn't you!"

Vanellope just giggled. Corporal Jameston snapped on a flashlight. "Okay kids, enough fooling around. We've got real trouble out here."

Swizzle asked, "What happened?"

Corporal Jameston sighed. "It looks like there's been an arcade-wide blackout. We're gonna have to wait 'till Litwak gets the power runnin' again."

Jerry asked, "How long might that be?"

Corporal Jameston shook his head. "Could be anywhere from minutes to hours. In the meanwhile, we're all stuck here. No contact in and out of games."

Jerry sighed. "Guess I'm stuck glowing for a while." Everyone stared at him. "Okay, okay! I won't complain any more."

* * *

Please review! Please, please, please!


	10. New Look

_SargeTJCalhoun64_: Yeah, I like him too! I actually didn't foresee that he'd become so close buddies with Jerry.

_Station Square Guardian_: Thank you! That's actually how I write: it's like I'm watching the story in my head and writing what I see. Glad to know it's working! Taffyta is going to show up more from now on, but Vanellope's forgiveness will have to wait (I'm not finished with them yet! *evil laughter*)

_Snikkey sugara_: Yeah it was quite sudden. I was out of ideas :-(

_Guest _(All three): I'm guessing you're the same person? I'm sorry, here you go…

* * *

**Chapter 10: New Look**

Vanellope rubbed her face wearily. It had been five hours since the power went out, and there was no sign of respite. Corporal Jameston had been instrumental in keeping the situation under control and preventing widespread panic. He had called a meeting of all the game leaders that happened to be present. It turned out that only Sonic and PacMan were around, besides Vanellope. The three of them plus Corporal Jameston hurriedly cobbled together a plan to keep everyone safe and calm 'till power was restored.

Sonic was in charge of crowd control; he was to move around reassuring characters and answering questions. PacMan was in charge of zoning, designating and dividing characters into their own zones. Vanellope was placed in charge of food supplies that Sonic collected from everyone. Although some didn't need to eat, those with health and energy levels would soon start losing life and energy, and Vanellope's job was to make sure they got the food they needed. Corporal Jameston oversaw all three of them, relying on his training and military background to keep things under control.

Just then, Swizzle and Adorabeezle came dashing through the crowd, heading for Corporal Jameston. Vanellope saw them excitedly describing something to him, and then they all headed quickly toward the west end of the station. Adorabeezle was assigned to listen to the outside, because there was some light filtering in at the ends of the station. Swizzle had offered to stay with her to ease her fear of the dark. Vanellope had chuckled at his 'excuse', but allowed it. Now she headed towards Corporal Jameston who had summoned the leaders.

Corporal Jameston said with a small smile, "I just got some good news from Swizz and Dora. You tell 'em, guys!"

Adorabeezle smiled and said, "I overheard Mr. Litwak talking to some repairman out there. It sounds like the electricity going to be back within half an hour!"

Everyone smiled wearily. Sonic said, "What a relief!" Vanellope interjected, "Good thing, too. The food is running low." Sonic continued, "I'll go report this to the whole station right away!" preparing to zoom away.

"Whoa! Hold it, speedster. We're going to keep this info on a need-to-know basis. Don't spread the word yet." Corporal Jameston commanded, looking around carefully. "We don't want folks getting too excited, _yet_. Dora and Swizz aren't entirely certain about this, so I'm going to stay here and see if I can gather more intel. 'Till then, lips closed. Got it?"

"YES SIR!" they chorused. They dispersed, but with brighter faces and some measure of relief.

As she headed back to her post, she noticed Ralph giggling non-stop. She headed over to see what was going on. The power outage had caused the Surge Protector to freeze in position. Ralph was taking his revenge on his major annoyance by dressing him up in silly costumes and hairstyles and snapping pictures. Vanellope laughed 'till she cried. A lot of the game characters had gathered around to watch Ralph's antics.

She returned to her food distribution post where Jerry was deputizing for her. She skipped up behind him and went, "BOO!"

Jerry yelled, "AHHH!", sending the bowl of soup he was holding flying right into Vanellope's face! She wiped her face, incredulous. Jerry ladled another bowl of soup before turning to Vanellope. "What was that? We're in such a bad situation and you can still joke around?" Jerry asked, shaking his head. Vanellope smiled, "I was just trying to get you to relax. You've been so tense and stressed these past few hours." Jerry replied with a wry chuckle, "Isn't everyone? You're the only one who could still be perky in this scenario."

Vanellope just smiled as Corporal Jameston made an announcement. His unamplified voice was loud enough to reach everyone. He yelled, "Listen up, everyone! Mr. Litwak is having someone repair the electricity! We should be out of here in ten minutes! Please gather up your belongings and proceed to your gate in an orderly fashion. After you get back to your game, please inform your game leader that they've been out for more than five hours. Thank you." The whole station erupted in a loud cheer!

Sure enough, the lights and power came back on ten minutes later. The station started buzzing again as everyone headed home. Vanellope sat down, completely exhausted, and immediately entered dreamland. Ralph smiled tenderly down at her and picked her up in his huge hands. He rounded up the rest of their group and headed over to Sugar Rush.

* * *

Vanellope bolted upright. She had been having a nightmare about being stranded in Game Central Station all by herself. She had gone looking for help, only to find all her friends turning on her and chasing her! She looked around to see that she was in her room. It took her a few seconds to remember everything that had happened yesterday.

Ralph was snoring on a chair beside her bed. His huge frame was folded uncomfortably on her extra-large comfy chair, which was still too small for him. She smiled and tiptoed out of her room.

Ralph was awakened by flashes of light in his eyes. He opened his eyes to find Vanellope standing in front of him. "Rise and shine, sleepyhead!" she yelled, grinning crazily. She was holding a camera in one hand and lipstick in the other. Ralph replied, "Morning President! Whatcha got there?"

Vanellope replied with a smile, "Oh, just clearing up my room. Hey, how'd I get back here last night? Last thing I remember was collapsing onto the seats at Game Central Station."

Ralph replied, "I carried you back. You looked so tired, I didn't wanna wake you."

Vanellope replied, "Oh. I see. Well, I'm heading out to the track! Last RRR before the update starts in half an hour. I wanna finish with a bang! See ya, chump!" She dashed out as fast as her legs could carry her. As soon as she was in her cart, the laughter hit her so hard she could barely see.

Ralph got out of the chair and rubbed his eyes. He looked at his hands, puzzled. They were covered in pink and black smears. He looked over at the mirror. He gasped, "AHHH!" Vanellope had put makeup on his face! She had given him the works, completing the makeover by placing a curly blonde wig on his head! "VAAANNNELLLOOPEEEE!"

Vanellope drove away laughing, holding the camera on her lap.

* * *

I will get back to the story in the next chapter, I promise! The power going out was a detour.

Please let me know: would you prefer me to update more frequently with shorter chapters or update less frequently but with longer chapters? PM me or leave a review; I want to satisfy you readers! Next chapter: _Vanellope's Fury!_


	11. Vanellope's Fury

_SargeTJCalhoun64_: Haha thanks. I thought it was hilarious too!

_annabre24_: Here's an extra-long chapter. Enjoy! Oh and thanks again for your OC.

_RobinsInTheSkye_: Thanks for your OC. Wow, if I stick to my original planned plot, you read my mind! I think Rae will be quite integral later on. Thanks!

_Snikkey sugara_: Uh okay but wait 'till you see this! Thanks for the cake! Have some candy and another chapter! *hands over candy*

I have a confession to make. I made several errors in my previous chapters: Gumball Gully is actually Gumball Gorge, Snowcone Mountains zone is actually Frosty Ride, and Crumbelina's Tira-Missile cart has the joint-highest grip/control. I only realized this after playing the game Sugar Rush Speedway. So, a big apology to all of you!

* * *

**Chapter 11: Vanellope's Fury!**

All the racers were gathered at the Racers' Lounge, reminiscing over their good and bad times in the current machine. Snowanna commented, "It's hard to believe that we're going to be updated! It's been fifteen years."

Minty said, "Fifteen years of racing, wow! It doesn't seem like so long ago when we were first plugged in. Time really flies."

Rancis smiled. "I remember the very first RRR. Taffyta was so mad at me because I smashed into her and ruined her chance of winning. She and Vanellope had been fighting for the lead all the way. When I got out of my cart at the end of the race, she walked over and slapped me!" Everyone laughed. Taffyta attempted to defend herself. "I did that because he made me spin off on the final lap. I would have won, if not for him!" She punched Rancis playfully.

Just then, Vanellope dashed in. "Guys, look at this!" She plugged in her camera to a laptop and displayed photos of Ralph, sleeping peacefully after Vanellope's makeover. Everyone's mouths hung open, speechless. Jerry was the first to regain his voice. "What in the name of candy is that?" Swizzle replied, wide-eyed, "That's Ralph. Wearing makeup. And a wig."

Minty said impishly, "That's not half-bad. Great makeover, Vanellope!"

Vanellope replied with a curtsy, "Thank you, madam, for your kind words."

Gloyd chuckled and commented, "You've outdone even me on this one. Nice one, Vanellope!"

Everyone started laughing as Vanellope scrolled through the photos she had taken of Ralph. They were all still giggling about it as they walked out to their carts.

The crowd was in full attendance for the last RRR before the update. Their screams and cheers filled the air as the racers got into their carts and settled into positions.

The announcer ran through the names of the racers and then mentioned the update. Suddenly, a voice boomed, "VAANNEELLLOOPPEEEE!" The crowd fell silent. Vanellope panicked. "That's our cue! START THE RACE QUICKLY!"

Sour Bill asked, "But what about-" Vanellope cut him off, signaling the countdown. He sighed and shrugged, beginning the countdown.

3, 2, 1, GO!

Ralph dashed onto the track a second after the racers roared off. He slammed his mighty fists into the ground in frustration and headed off to talk to Sour Bill.

* * *

Vanellope had sped into the lead, partially boosted by fear, with Jerry, Taffyta and Rancis hotly in pursuit. Gloyd, who had been crowded out at the start, was steadily making his way up the leaderboard. At the end of the first lap, the standings were: Jerry, Rancis, Vanellope, Taffyta, Candlehead, Gloyd, Adorabeezle, Minty, and Swizzle.

Jerry had overtaken Vanellope at the Gumball Gorge when she had been taken out by a Sweet Seeker, courtesy of Rancis. Vanellope proceeded to fight back from sixth to lurk behind the two leading boys. Gloyd was battling with Candlehead, who was defending brilliantly against Gloyd's superior speed.

As the racers entered the Gumball Gorge for the second time, disaster struck. Taffyta swerved to block Gloyd, desperately yanked the steering wheel to avoid a gumball heading right for her and collided with Vanellope, causing both of them to spin out of control. At the same time, Rancis apparently lost control of his cart and suddenly started spinning, causing a major pile-up, exacerbated by the giant gumballs rolling around. The crash involved Rancis, Taffyta, Vanellope, Gloyd, Candlehead, and Adorabeezle. Minty and Swizzle skidded to a halt just in time, but Snowanna and Sticky weren't so lucky. In total, eight of the racers had been wrecked, leaving the race in chaos.

The emergency team moved in on helicopters, icing the gumballs in place and locking the gumball machines. They made sure that all the racers and their carts were airlifted out, back to the starting line.

* * *

Vanellope was furious! She had been hoping to win this race and overtake Taffyta's win record. Turbo/King Candy had held the previous record but the racers had voted to remove his results because of his deceit. Taffyta held the record for a week with 127 wins, including avatar wins. After Vanellope joined the roster, she had quickly become the favoured avatar, due to her natural speed and glitching abilities. This final race would have broken her tie with Taffyta and taken her to 128! Vanellope was certain that Taffyta had wrecked her on purpose and Rancis was also helping her. She was ready to blow, but waited 'till all the racers had landed.

Taffyta was kneeling by Rancis' head. He was unconscious, apparently knocked out by the crash. She gently caressed his head, the ugly scar still obvious on his pale skin. A tear rolled down her cheek.

The chopper landed and Taffyta got out, giving Rancis' hand one last squeeze. She walked back to the Racers' Lounge, still lost in her thoughts. Suddenly, she was thrown to the ground roughly. Vanellope stood over her, eyes blazing!

Vanellope snarled, "You rotten candy apple! You think I didn't figure out your plan? You deliberately wrecked me with Rancis' help!" She jumped onto Taffyta and started slapping and clawing her. Taffyta attempted to defend herself, screaming and crying in pain, but it was a futile effort. The racers poured out of the Lounge and quickly separated the two girls. Jerry and Swizzle were holding Vanellope down the best they could, but she was like a wildcat, screaming threats and insults at Taffyta. Candlehead and Snowanna helped Taffyta up. Angry red marks all over her face were testament to Vanellope's fury.

Thoroughly angered, Taffyta screamed back, "I didn't wreck you on purpose! I swerved to block Gloyd and I didn't see the gumball coming! How dare you accuse me of rigging this crash! Rancis' spin had nothing to do with me! He's hurt and you accuse him of something like that?" She leaped at Vanellope, but was stopped by Candle, Snow, and Jubi. "Please Taff, don't do this!" Candlehead pleaded.

Taffyta and Vanellope both strained against the hands holding them. They both felt wronged by the other, and their desire for revenge increased their strength. Suddenly, they both broke free at the same time. The two girls slashed and smacked at each other like two hungry dogs fighting for the last piece of meat. Just then, Ralph waded into the fight. He tore the two girls away from each other's grasp and held them apart with his gigantic hands.

Taffyta collapsed, sobbing. Candlehead and Jubileena knelt by her, endeavoring to soothe her. Vanellope, however, still tried to glitch away from Ralph's reach. He finally caught her again, held her upside down in the air, and shook her hard. "Get a hold of yourself, kid!" he yelled, scaring everyone with his booming voice. "What is wrong with you?"

Vanellope answered, with her voice building into a scream, "Nothing's wrong with me but everything's wrong with her! She wrecked me on purpose to stop me from beating her race win record!"

Ralph looked over at Taffyta, who shook her head tearfully. Vanellope sighed and stormed away in the direction of her castle. Ralph glanced at her before walking over to Taffyta. "Kid, you okay?" Taffyta nodded, wiping her eyes and face on her sleeve. Blood, tears, and makeup were smeared all over her face, partially hiding the cuts and bruises she had sustained. Candlehead gently led her away to the hospital. Ralph looked at Jerry and both of them shook their heads.

* * *

Taffyta was lying in bed beside Rancis. She had been cleaned up and checked into the hospital. Preliminary check-ups had shown no serious injuries, but the doctor wanted to monitor her for a day.

She felt lonely. What she really wanted was to talk to someone, but no one seemed available. Rancis was the person she longed to talk to the most, but her boyfriend was still unconscious. Candlehead wouldn't really understand her, and Taffyta wasn't close enough to any other racer to be comfortable talking to them about her feelings. Then, a name entered her mind. She picked up the phone and dialed.

* * *

Vanellope wasn't admitting defeat. "She'll pay for that! That lollipop-sucking loser! Now, what can I-". She stopped abruptly as the idea hit her. With a grim smile, she dashed quickly to Sour Bill's room. She was going to hurt Taffyta big-time!

* * *

"Thanks for coming, Jerry. I'm really sorry to disturb you." Taffyta apologized.

"Don't worry. I can hang out with Swizzle any time. I understand that you need someone just to talk to." Jerry replied. He smiled kindly, his blue eyes encouraging Taffyta to pour out her feelings. She started talking about her history with Vanellope. They had been designed as rivals both on and off the track, but they had done it jokingly to maintain appearances. Then King Candy/Turbo took over, erasing everyone's memories. Taffyta had begun bullying Vanellope, along with everyone else. Taffyta concluded, "Then Vanellope was restored as President, and everything seemed to be back to normal. Except, Vanellope refused to forgive me. I really, really apologized to her, but she wouldn't forgive me. She even slighted me publicly."

Jerry nodded as he remembered Vanellope's actions that seemed petty, but actually had years of hurt behind them.

Taffyta continued, "I can live with that, but then she blew up today. I mean, I know she hates me, but to accuse me of deliberately wrecking her? I don't care about the record at all! She even accused Rancis of working together with me!"

Jerry nodded again. "I'll talk to Vanellope about this. She was way out of line today. She has to learn to forgive." He smiled.

Taffyta smiled back gratefully. Suddenly a blinding wave of pain hit her and she crashed to the floor, holding her head. Jerry quickly knelt by her side and asked, "Are you okay?" Taffyta tried to reply but another wave of pain hit her. It was so painful that she screamed and fainted.

* * *

"Come on, come on! Where is it?" Vanellope mumbled as she rifled through Sour Bill's desk. She turned to the bed, rummaging under the pillows. She gave a small gasp as her fingers closed on something soft. She drew out her hand to see the napkin from Tapper's. She quickly unfolded it to reveal the combination to the code vault! She clenched her fist in jubilation before straightening up the room and slipping away.

She headed straight for the code vault and carefully tapped in the combination. Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A, Start! The door spun sideways before creaking open. Vanellope knotted the licorice rope around her waist and tied the other end to the railing just beside the door. She floated in, looking around for the racers' codes. She smiled as her eyes fell upon the newest code, Jerry Berry's code. She turned away, still searching.

There it was! 'TAFFYTA MUTTONFUDGE', the box read. She firmly grasped the wires connecting the code to the game. She closed her eyes, exhaled, and yanked. A smile crossed her face.


	12. Big Problem

_annabre24_: You're right. Very Turbo-like indeed...

_Ojaminator_: Glad you like this twist! I've also finally managed to get to the update.

_SargeTJCalhoun64_: Very dark indeed *scary music*. Or maybe it's me with the dark streak...

_RobinsInTheSkye_: Thanks for your compliments! Your last statement makes me wonder too...

_Guest_: Hi! Here you go! Could you leave a name next time? Thanks!

_Superawesomegentleman_: I'll definitely make more! Thanks!

_BlackRose56_: Thanks for your OC! I'll work her into the story soon!

_crankyman7_: Fair enough, my story's premise is based on a 'what if?' and I've edited the summary accordingly. I think you're right about Ralph and the cart; didn't put much thought into that.  
Chapter 7 was a bit confusing; I might do it again but I'll strive to make it clearer next time.  
Is Jerry bland? Nice guys are no longer appreciated :-( The only way I can show his character is through his actions. Maybe you could clarify? I'll probably explore Vanellope's and Jerry's backstories in a later chapter.  
As for Hero's Cuties, I may or may not put them in, but I'll try.

Thanks for your detailed review and constructive criticism! Much appreciated as it's the first!

: Sorry, but I can't do that here in this story. I'm planning a different story arc. I may explore that in another story in the future, though...

* * *

Hey everyone! Wow, I'm overwhelmed by the number of reviews Chapter 11 got! Big, big, thanks to everyone who reviewed! Please keep reviewing!

News Flash: 1. The OCs will start showing up from next chapter onwards.

2. I started a second story! YAY! It's titled "A Bedtime Story: Contest Details Inside"! Why? You can win a chance to have your OCs and story ideas written by me working together with you! Please go take a look!

Hope you enjoy this chapter!

* * *

**Chapter 12: Big Problem**

Vanellope kept yanking out wires from the top and bottom of Taffyta's code until she got to the last two. As hard as she tried, she could not remove them. Finally, she gave up.

She pulled herself back to the vault door and closed it. With a little smile on her face, she walked towards her garage. She opened the door and nearly walked into Sour Bill! "Great Gobstoppers! I thought you were out!"

Sour Bill replied, "Yes, I just got back. Why were you so frightened by me?"

Vanellope just shrugged and brushed past him. She got into the Candy Kart and zoomed off quickly. Sour Bill stared after her thoughtfully.

* * *

Taffyta opened her eyes to find herself lying on her bed and Jerry's hand on her shoulder. His eyes were closed and his lips were moving silently. She pressed her hand to her head, slowly remembering what had happened. She weakly mumbled, "Jerry…"

Jerry looked up with a start. "Taffyta! Thank goodness you're awake. How are you feeling now?"

Taffyta replied, "My head is still spinning….What happened?"

Jerry answered, "We were talking and then you suddenly collapsed, screaming. You were clutching your head, and then you fainted, but you were still grimacing like you were in pain. And then the strangest thing happened. You started fading and flickering! Can you remember anything?"

Taffyta said, "Yeah. My head felt like it was being torn apart. It was the worst pain I've ever felt, and I've been through many crashes. It was so painful that I had to scream. And then, nothing. I guess that was when I fainted." She paused for a while, for even the effort of talking was too much for her. Jerry waited patiently.

Taffyta continued, "You say that I faded? How so?"

Jerry furrowed his eyebrows. "It was like, you became transparent, like you were on the verge of disappearing. The doctors and I tried to carry you back to your bed but your body was like dust or a cloud. And then your image solidified again. Then you started flickering, kind of like when you have a bad TV signal and the picture turns to wavy lines." He had a worried look on his face. "The doctors said that your code might have been damaged, possibly by the crash. Rancis' code, too. But the strange thing is that all the other racers seem okay."

He leant forward in his chair. "The doctors say that your condition is serious, but if you woke up, you'd most likely be fine."

Taffyta smiled weakly at Jerry. "Thank you for staying here and listening to me", she said. "You're such a great friend."

Jerry smiled back. "It's no problem at all. I'm just glad you're okay. But I'm starting to worry about Rancis. Do you mind if I go over to check on him?"

Taffyta replied, "Of course not! Go ahead; I need to rest anyway. Thanks again, Jerry." She smiled and closed her eyes.

Jerry moved over to Rancis' bed and placed his hand on Rancis' forehead, over the scar. He felt a slight warmth, assuring him that Rancis was still alive. He bowed his head and closed his eyes again.

* * *

Vanellope drove up to the hospital. She hopped out and walked straight to the head doctor's office. Dr. Hershey looked up from his desk. "Afternoon, President."

Vanellope nodded. She asked, "How are the racers?"

Dr. Hershey replied, "Snowanna, Adorabeezle and Sticky both were relatively unhurt; just a few scratches. Gloyd was a bit cut up; a flesh wound on his left arm. Candlehead had a cut on her face….and broke her candle. That girl! She was more worried about her candle than the blood! Rancis and Taffyta seem to have come off the worst. Rancis has been unconscious since the crash. Taffyta, well, I'm not quite sure what the problem is with her. We're still running tests on those two. Worst case, their codes might be damaged."

Vanellope faked a concerned look. "Is there anything we can do?"

Dr. Hershey sighed. "We won't know for sure 'till the tests are finished."

Vanellope nodded. "Is it okay if I drop in on them?"

Dr. Hershey thought for a moment and nodded. "Okay, you can visit, but don't stay too long." Just then a beeping and a flashing interrupted them. Dr. Hershey's eyes widened. "Okay, I'm coming with you."

* * *

Jerry felt Rancis move. He opened his eyes to see Rancis smiling up at him. "Hey bro," Rancis whispered.

Jerry sighed in relief. "Hey bro, glad to see you awake."

A look of puzzlement crossed Rancis' face. "What's going on? Where am I? Last thing I remember was the RRR. I was trying to catch up to you. What happened?"

Jerry said, "You lost control of your cart and spun. The same thing happened to Taffyta, resulting in a big crash. You've been unconscious for a while now."

"Seven hours and thirty-six minutes exactly." A voice said from behind Jerry.

Jerry twisted around in his chair. "Oh, Dr. Hershey. And Vanellope! What are y'all doing here?"

Dr. Hershey shook his head in amazement. "I let you in here when they were both unconscious. Now they're both awake. How do you do it?"

Jerry just smiled and said, "Doc, I believe it wasn't the crash that caused Rancis to black out. It was the black out that caused him to crash."

Dr. Hershey peered sharply at Jerry. "How did you know that? I just came to that conclusion myself!"

Jerry turned to Vanellope. "May I take a look at Rancis' and Taffyta's codes? I may be able to help."

Vanellope was taken aback for a second. She replied, "Well, you're welcome to try, but Sour Bill would never let you into the code vault! He wouldn't even let me in to take a look!"

Jerry nodded. "I'll be going now. Bye, Vanellope. Bye, Rancis. Bye, Taffy. And thank you, Dr. Hershey." He walked out the door.

Dr. Hershey just nodded, a look of deep thought on his face. "Vanellope, will you be okay on your own? I need to go out for a while.

Vanellope quickly replied, "Sure, go ahead Doc! I'll be just fine." Dr. Hershey smiled and quickly walked out.

Vanellope smiled to herself. She approached Rancis' bed. "Hey Rancis, how are you feeling?"

"Still a bit weak, but better, thanks. Why did you come to visit?"

"As a President, I have to care for my racers! Of course I'd visit! I hope you feel better soon."

"Thanks, Vanellope. Are the other racers okay? I hate to think I might've hurt other people accidentally."

"Well, except for Gloyd and Candlehead, the rest just have a few small scratches. And you know about Taffyta. That's about all the damage, so you can relax."

Rancis sighed. "I'm gonna apologize to everyone once I get out of this bed."

Vanellope asked quizzically, "Why do you want to apologize? You heard Dr. Hershey; you blacked out and crashed. It isn't really your fault."

Rancis replied, "I know, but still, I feel responsible. Hey, if you don't mind, I'd like to get some rest." Vanellope nodded and Rancis turned over on his side and closed his eyes.

Vanellope walked over to Taffyta's bedside. Taffyta was propped up reading a book but looked up upon hearing Vanellope's footsteps. The two girls just looked at each other for a few seconds before Vanellope spoke. "How are you feeling?"

Taffyta responded, "Good, under the circumstances."

Vanellope nodded and turned away saying, "Hope you feel better soon." As she strode away, she muttered darkly, "You're getting exactly what you deserve, fudge girl!"

* * *

The morning of the data transfer dawned. Everyone was up and buzzing, getting ready for the transfer. The racers were all at the Lounge, chatting. They were speculating on what new racers or tracks they would find! Jubileena squealed, dancing around, "I'm so excited. Oooh, do you think there'll be some new guys? Huh? I really hope so!" Everyone stared at her. "What?"

Snowanna said, "_Okay_, Jubi. We get it."

Swizzle said, "_I_ hope there will be new tracks. I mean, the current tracks are nice and all, but they've gotten a bit stale. The Swizz needs a challenge!"

Minty commented, "Yeah, that'd be cool. Hey, are Rancis and Taffyta healthy enough to come? I thought they were stuck in bed."

Candlehead said, "WHAT? They're stuck in bed? What a mean trick! Gloyd, was it you ? You shouldn't be pulling tricks on sick people!"

Gloyd rolled his eyes. Snowanna explained, "No, Candle. That's not what Minty meant. She meant that they just had to stay in bed 'till they were better."

Candlehead thought for a second. "Ohh, I get it!"

Vanellope, who was relaxing in the corner, looked over at the chocolate cuckoo clock. She stood up and announced, "Okay everyone, let's head over to the USB hall now."

Everyone started towards the hall, where most of the fans were waiting. The fans immediately mobbed their favorite racer. Taffyta and Rancis were also there. Taffyta was seated in a wheelchair with Rancis pushing her around. Swizzle approached them and asked, "Hey Rancis, how'd you recover so fast?" Rancis smiled and said, "I'll talk to you after the transfer. It's a bit of a long story." Suddenly, they felt the ground shift slightly. Then it shifted again, more strongly. A hush fell over everyone that soon turned into a rumble of questions. Nobody knew what was happening.

Everyone soon fell silent when Mr. Litwak attached the USB cable to the machine. With a click, it locked into position. Mr. Litwak went over to the new machine and hit some buttons. The transfer began.

* * *

_It crawled along slowly. Its beady eyes fell upon a large group of people. It quickly burrowed underground and started moving towards them. It's rapid movement caused the earth to shift around. Suddenly, it felt itself being lifted up and tossed around! It screeched in surprise._

* * *

Next chapter: New Faces, New Places. See ya then! Bye people!


	13. New Faces, New Places

Hey everyone! I'm so, so, sorry for making you guys wait so long! I had a bit of writer's block. But, I'm really excited, 'cause the first OC has finally appeared! Several more will come next chapter, 'cause I couldn't squeeze them into this chapter. So, enjoy!

_annabre24_: You're right! Taffyta is rather naive, but it just makes it easier for Vanellope to bully her! MWAHAHAHA! *covers mouth* Did I just do that?

_crankyman7_: Aaah yes, Dr. Hershey. Moment of inspiration for me. New candy-related puns? Not quite sure; humour isn't my forte. I'm open to suggestions! Hope you keep enjoying!

_Kam_ _XD_: It's not too late yet!

_RobinsInTheSkye_: The transfer! Yay! I'm really excited too! Don't worry, I won't stop!

_Angel's Best Friend_: Why, thank you!

_SargeTJCalhoun64_: Sure do! It's starting to get into my head too! DUN DUN DUN!

_ .persson.98_: I'm so sorry! Here you go!

_BlackRose56_: Thanks for your OC! Yeah, it was rather bad of Vanell- *Vanellope shoves JarrettSoon away*

Vanellope: It's not my fault! He made me! *points at JarrettSoon* I will have my revenge!

Me: See, you are bad!

Vanellope: Aaarrggghhh! *charges at JarrettSoon*

JarrettSoon: Aah! Enjoy people, got to run!

* * *

**Chapter 13: New Faces, New Places**

Vanellope looked around as the lights came back on. She saw everyone standing there in confusion. It seemed like they were in the same hall! Puzzled, she worked her way through the crowd to the door and opened it.

She was greeted by an amazing sight. The hall was on top of a small hill from which she could see the upgraded kingdom of Sugar Rush. The graphics had been upgraded to high-definition, making everything, including the characters, look much more realistic.

The white chocolate castle stood magnificently on the tallest hill, gleaming in the sunlight. It appeared much bigger than in the old game. Sugar Rush Speedway was now much longer, with several new tracks visible in the distance, including a mountainous track, a beach track, and a track suspended on cotton candy clouds!

Everyone had swarmed out of the hall cheering at their new, or rather, improved home. Jerry and the other racers approached Vanellope. "Not bad, huh, Vanellope?" Jerry commented.

Vanellope replied, "Not bad at all, Jerry. Not bad at all." She surveyed her kingdom with a satisfied smile. "What say we go take a spin 'round the new tracks, guys?"

The racers cheered and started down the hill to the track. They were chattering excitedly when suddenly Swizzle, who was in the lead, stopped dead in his tracks, causing everyone to bump into each other due to the narrow trail. Jerry, who was right behind him, stepped off the trail just in time but missed his footing and tumbled all the way down. Candlehead squealed, "Ooohh, that looks like fun!" and jumped off the trail, rolling down all the way. Jerry was just picking himself up when Candlehead came tumbling down right into him, tripping him up! Candlehead squealed, "Whee! Wasn't that fun, Jerry!" The entire group of racers burst into laughter! Jerry facepalmed, sighed and rolled his eyes.

Before he could pick himself up, a little girl's voice asked, "Is that Jack and Jill?"

A deeper male voice replied laughingly, "No Jelly, I don't think so!"

"But the rhyme, Amos!" She proceeded to recite the beloved children's rhyme:

_Jack and Jill_

_went up the hill_

_to fetch a pail of water,_

_Jack fell down,_

_and broke his crown,_

_and Jill came tumbling after!_

She concluded by saying, "So they must be Jack and Jill!"

The guy apparently called Amos laughed. "No Jelly. If they were, wouldn't they be carrying a pail of water?"

Jerry turned around to see a young man with long brown hair and a little pink-haired girl looking at him. The girl's face was screwed up in thought and her brows were furrowed. She said thoughtfully, "I guess you're right. Then who are they?"

Jerry stood up and brushed himself off. He shook the outstretched hand of the young man and the little girl shyly put out her hand also. Jerry smiled kindly and shook her hand, introducing himself. "My name is Jerry Berry, and this is Candlehead."

"Amos Cookiechip," said the young man. He looked at the girl, who shyly whispered, "Hi, my name's Kelly Kristin Jellybean. Everyone calls me Jelly."

By that time, all the racers had reached the bottom of the hill, gathering behind Jerry and Candlehead. Amos asked, "So what are you guys doing here?"

Vanellope said, "Um, I think we should be the ones asking that question. What are you doing here?"

Jelly replied, "We're the new racers! This is the upgraded kingdom of Sugar Rush. We're waiting for the data transfer."

Jerry chuckled. "That's us then!"

Vanellope introduced herself, then everyone else. Amos and Jelly politely greeted everyone. Vanellope concluded by saying, "We were just on our way to take a spin 'round the new tracks; get some experience before the arcade opens."

Jelly squealed, "We'll take you around! We know these tracks real well!

Jerry said, "Okay, let's go!" They headed to the upgraded and redesigned Racers' Lounge, where their carts were waiting for them. As Vanellope walked to the Kandy Kart, she noticed something out of the corner of her eye. A motorcycle and tricycle stood at the side of the first row of carts, beside Taffyta's Pink Lightning. Vanellope asked, "What's that?"

Amos grinned broadly. "Part of the upgrades. See, we don't race in carts." He walked over and fondly caressed the motorcycle. "This is the Cookiecycle!" The body was a slightly burnt cookie, with round chocolate chip cookies for the wheels.

Jubileena asked, "Then what's this one?" pointing to the tricycle. Jelly skipped over. "That's my tricycle! It's called the Jellymint Trike!" The frame was made from peppermint sticks melted together, and the wheels were circular peppermints coated with a layer of jellybeans. A jellybean seat completed the tricycle.

Sticky called out, "Hey! There are a couple of big carts back here! Are there more upgraded characters?"

Amos replied," There sure are! That's the O'Sweetie twins' double cart, and the Gingerbread Van."

Candlehead asked, "Gingerbread… Man? Funny name for a cart."

Rancis sighed, "Gingerbread _Van_! Not Gingerbread Man!" Jelly started giggling uncontrollably. Rancis asked, "What?"

Jelly cleared her throat and said really quickly, "The Gingerbread Van is the Gingerbread Man's. The Gingerbread Man's van is the Gingerbread Van."

Candlehead said, "Ooohh! I love tongue-twisters!" She tried to imitate Jelly, but got hopelessly mixed up. "The Gingerbread Van's man is the Ginger Man's bread van, er, Gingerbread, um, man's ginger…..Howdjudodat?"

Jelly laughed even harder until tears rolled down her cheeks! She clutched her tummy and rolled around, laughing hysterically. She finally regained control, wiping her eyes. She said, "Well, let's go!" She hopped onto Amos' Cookiecycle.

Everyone started their engines and started off at a leisurely speed. Amos rode at the front, giving some comments on the course from time to time. Jelly was chattering on and on with Jerry and Candlehead, telling them about the racers and the courses and anything else she could think of.

They drove through the Rock Candy Peaks, a course that winded up one mountain and led to a jump over to the neighboring peak before descending to the finish.

Then they headed down to Brownie Beach. The track was paved with brownies, the sand was brown sugar, and the course was completed by a sea of chocolate milk. It was a circular track with tight turns, and one section was only brown sugar, making close control necessary. Amos screeched to a halt and said, "If a racer loses control, it usually results in a very cold swim indeed. The straight leading to the 90 degree turn on the sandy part tempts racers to accelerate, flinging them into the sea."

Jelly said, "Why'd you tell them, Amos? It would've been fun to see them spin off into the sea!"

Jerry commented, "You're a cheeky girl, wanting to see others crash!" He tickled her neck playfully. She squealed in laughter and attempted to defend herself.

Rancis asked, "Aren't there other tracks? Shouldn't we head out to those as well?"

Amos said, "The other tracks, the Cotton Candy Clouds and the Peanut Butter Mines, are locked until a player reaches Level 5 on their console. And we also have Lollipop Lane. Lollipop Lane is the upgraded version of Sweet Ride, so you guys probably won't need any introduction to that."

Just then, the five minute alert sounded. Vanellope said, "Okay people, let's head back to the Lounge now!" The racers zoomed back to the Lounge.

Amos and Jelly beat them all there with his superior speed and lesser weight. He commented, "You guys aren't that fast, are you?"

Vanellope climbed out and shook her head, smiling. "Just wait 'till we REALLY get going, Cookiechip! We'll leave you in the dust!"

Jelly spoke up. "Well, how about a race? After arcade hours, newbies versus oldies!" She and Amos winked at each other.

The 'oldies' looked at each other with a smile. Vanellope said, "You're on!"

A couple of girls walked out from the Lounge, dressed in similar dark yellow jackets, orange skirts, and bright yellow leggings. The only difference between them was that one of them wore a slightly darker jacket. "What's on?" they asked together.

Jelly hopped off the Cookiecycle and ran over to them. She exclaimed, "We've got us a race tonight! We upgrades are gonna race against the old characters!"

They both said, "Sweet!"

Minty asked, "Are you two twins?"

They both replied, "Yeah!"

The lighter colored girl said, "I'm Honey…"

The darker colored girl continued, "And I'm Maple…."

They finished, "And we're the O'Sweetie twins!"

Jubileena remarked, "Whew, double trouble!"

Amos asked the twins, "Is Gingy ready yet? The arcade's about to open!

Honey replied, "He should be out any minute now."

As the quarter alert sounded, the racers scrambled for their vehicles. Torvald jumped into her cart, parked next to the Ginger bread Van. As she started her engine, she noticed a gingerbread cookie jumping into the van. She thought to herself, "He must be the Gingerbread Man." She called out, "Hi!"

The Gingerbread Man replied, "Oh, hi! Wait, the upgrade happened already? Crumbs! I missed it! I-, I'm sorry, I'm forgetting my manners. I'm the Gingerbread Man, but call me Gingy."

Torvald giggled. "I'm Torvald. Nice to meet you!"

Gingy replied, "Nice to meet you too!"

Up front, Jerry was talking with Amos. "Hey, exactly what are you keeping from us? You and Jelly were winking at each other just now."

Amos replied with a huge grin, "Can't spoil the surprise, you know. I'll just say we've got an ace up our sleeves."

Everyone turned toward the screen as the player began setting up for his game. Despite the new machine having four screens, two side by side and back to back with the other two, there was only one player playing. He plugged in his USB and waited as it loaded. Another boy ran up behind him. "Hey Grant! Wow, you got the console game already? Cool! How does it work?"

Grant replied, "Hey Alex! The console game's pretty good. I'm just trying my racer out here for the first time. Wanna watch?"

Alex replied, "Your own racer? Cool! Sure thing!" He sat down beside Grant.

As the screen showed the load bar, something was happening in the game. Vanellope and her racers watched fascinated as a blurry and sparkling figure appeared in front of them. The figure solidified and the sparkles went away. The new racer was a boy dressed in blue and white. He was wearing a light blue sleeveless jacket with a white shirt underneath, long light blue pants, and blue sneakers. His outfit was completed by a light blue dome hat with wisps of brown hair peeking out from underneath. His cart's body was spherical, with the bottom a half gumball and the top a hemisphere of glass tinted blue.

He flashed a smile to everyone and introduced himself. "Hi there! I'm Barry Bubblestein! Nice to meet you all!" He hopped into his cart and triggered the top to close.

Grant chose the Regular Race mode, which was a one-lap race against the whole field around four different zones. He gripped the steering wheel as the countdown began. Barry mimicked his controller's actions.

3, 2, 1, GO!

The racers sped off! As they entered the first zone, the familiar Gumball Gorge, Jerry was leading Vanellope and Rancis. Amos, Swizzle and Barry were dueling behind them.

The racers hit the Sugar Cubes. Jerry picked up Syrup Slick and immediately laid it down. Rancis, who was right behind Jerry, couldn't avoid it and lost control of his cart, nearly crashing into a gumball before regaining control. Vanellope also picked up a Sugar Cube. The announcer cried, "CHARACTER ITEM! Sugar Storm!" A transparent cannon with a small tornado swirling inside it opened up out of the back of the Kandy Kart. Curious, Vanellope fired at Swizzle. The cannon fired out a growing tornado made of grains of sugar, which surrounded Swizzle and blew him up high. The Tongue Twister landed back on the track with a big jolt, leaving Swizzle stunned for a moment. His head cleared just in time for him to see a gumball heading straight for him. "AAAHH!" Crash!

Vanellope called out to Amos, "That was cool! What was that?"

Amos yelled back, "Character Item! Something unique to each racer!"

As they entered Lollipop Lane, the second of the four zones, Amos accelerated, taking advantage of his superior speed. The leading racers were now Amos, Jerry, Vanellope, Barry, and Candlehead. They got through Lollipop Lane without much ado.

Vanellope was wondering about the new racer, Barry. He didn't seem to be very dangerous but still managed to keep up with the leaders.

The racers entered zone three, the Cakeway. Vanellope immediately took advantage and passed Jerry and then Amos, who had to slow down to maintain control. Barry was still lurking in fourth place.

They exited the ramp onto the final zone, Brownie Beach. Amos was relying on his experience to overtake Vanellope and Jerry. He slickly took his Cookiecycle round the hairpin turns and hit the sandy straight, closing in on Vanellope. Jerry was accelerating hard, trying to keep up with Amos. Vanellope was the first to take the 90 degree turn, but she hadn't braked enough and spun. Amos skidded to a near halt to avoid crashing into her. Seeing that, Jerry slowed to a safe speed before taking the turn. Amos and Vanellope finally got back on the track, now behind Jerry.

Suddenly, Vanellope noticed Barry approaching the turn at full speed. Amazingly, he didn't spin off! His cart's wheels were spherical, allowing him to drift 'round the turn without losing too much speed. He slid neatly into second position, ahead of Vanellope and Amos.

The leading four racers headed for the finish line just metres away, bunched together. They were all battling hard for the win. Jerry just managed to hold off Barry for the win, with Vanellope coming in third.

Jerry and Vanellope approached Barry. Vanellope commented, "Wow! How did you manage that drift? You're real good!"

Amos added, "I'll say! I've been practicing that turn for a while but still can't get it perfect! That was real skill!"

Alex, Grant's friend, was also complimenting Grant on that final turn.

Grant & Barry smiled modestly. They said at the same time, "It's my cart design. Its speed may be lower but its handling is awesome. Well, I'm just happy my strategy worked."

Just then, the screen flashed. Congratulations! You have finished in the top 3, so your racer will be saved into the machine. Good job!

Grant pumped his fist in celebration. He inserted another four quarters to begin the next race.

* * *

Note: Barry was mimicking his player, Grant.

I own Jerry Berry, Kelly Kristin Jellybean, the O'Sweetie twins, and Amos Cookiechip. Amos Cookiechip's name was partially created by one of my friends, Yashana Lingam. Thanks again, Yash! I was having real trouble with his name.

The Gingerbread Man (Gingy) is a crossover character from Shrek.

And the owner of Barry Bubblestein is Ojaminator! The first sent in OC!

I apologize to everyone else and I promise you will see your OC in before the plot continues.

Until next chapter...goodbye.


	14. Showdown!

_annabre24_: Thanks! I've been working on it. And once again, MWAHAHAHA! *covers mouth* Sorry, I'm getting carried away.

_SargeTJCalhoun64_: Don't feel bad, my sister and her friend also tried that tongue-twister but got mixed up. It was rather good, wasn't it. And yes, the 'infestation'…

_RobinsonSiblings_: Twins, eh? I like 'em too. Wait 'till you see how cool their racing is!

_crankyman7_: I agree about the author's notes; duly revised, with my thanks for pointing that out. Thanks also for reminding me to focus on the conflict (I'll do my best to keep balancing the story carefully).

_PsychoMac2_: Thanks! Your OC's in here too…

_Kam XD_: Thanks for sending in your OCs! Wow, you've really put a lot of thought into them. I'm very, very, sorry, but I'm not gonna put them in. Why don't you write a story about them? Would be a shame to waste all that material.

_Guest_: Um, here you go? Could you leave a name next time? Would appreciate it very much!

_SeanXuan_: Yes, vveeerrryy looonnngg! I kkknnnnoooowww ;-)

_zoruatheshaymin_: Thanks for your OC! I'm sorry, but a vampire character is not something I'm looking for. Actually I'm looking for racers. Thanks anyway for reading!

_bri.h123_: I apologize! Don't worry, I'll identify you more conclusively next time *heehee* (full name, hmmm..)

_BlackRose56_: I agree. That was a tough turn indeed!

* * *

I am so sorry about the two week wait you had to endure. I've been fighting writer's block :-( Anyway, I finally got this chapter out! Enjoy!

**Chapter 14: Showdown!**

Vanellope rubbed her face wearily. It had been a long and tiring day of racing, getting used to the new machine. New formats, new tracks, new racers! Still, she had racked up a few wins.

There was still the 'oldies' versus 'newbies' challenge. She walked slowly to the Lounge where everyone was waiting for her.

Barry had been the first of several player-created racers to be saved into the machine. The others hadn't introduced themselves yet, and were sitting quietly in the Lounge.

Vanellope walked in and said, "Well, it's been a long day, and many of us are still getting used to the tracks, but I think everyone raced splendidly today!" Cheers rang out through the room. She continued, "Also, we've welcomed some new racers into the roster. Can you all introduce yourselves so that we can get to know you a bit better?" She looked around expectantly.

A girl with brown hair shyly stood up. "Hi everyone, my name is Chocolate Kiss, but call me Coco." She was wearing a dark brown jacket with a white tank top underneath, tan shorts, and light brown shoes. A Hershey's Kiss was perched on her head. "It's been very nice to race with all of you." Everyone clapped politely as she sat down.

A blue-eyed girl stood up. She said, "Stella's my name, racing's my game!" She then introduced herself as Stella Citrustwist. She had blonde hair with blue streaks, tied in a ponytail. She was dressed mostly in orange, except for her tights, which were light brown and white.

Minty spoke up. "You know, you look an awful lot like Taffyta!" Many of the racers agreed.

Stella smiled and replied, "My controller, Molly, really liked Taffyta, so she based me on her."

Everyone clapped as she sat down. The next to stand was a boy. He was dressed in red-and-white stripes, quite obviously themed after candy canes. "Hi everyone. My name is Hilary Carls' Cane." He spoke with a polished accent. Jubileena whispered to Citrusella, "Oh, so charming!"

The last new racer was leaning against the wall with a dark expression on her face. She was a human-animal hybrid, possessing a hedgehog's ears, a cat's claws, and raven-black wings. Shoulder-length black hair streaked with purple cascaded over her face, held back by a purple headband, partially hiding her menacing, slanted red eyes. She was dressed in a sleeveless dress made of black licorice under a grape-colored vest. She also wore a silver belt with a red jewel buckle and a matching red ring on her right hand.

Gloyd looked her over and commented with a wry smile, "Are you sure you're not lost?"

Quick as a flash, a knife embedded itself in his pumpkin hat. The new girl snarled. Her ring blazed bright red. Gloyd flinched and pulled out the knife, saying, "Chill! Can't you take a joke?"

Vanellope stepped between them and tried to calm things down. She asked, "What's your name?"

Still snarling, the girl replied, "My name's Rae. Don't forget it, or you'll regret it!"

Vanellope conferred with Amos for a moment then announced, "Okay, that's everyone! Now, we move on to the challenge race. 'Oldies' versus 'newbies', or, in other words, the long-time characters against the new racers. Each side will choose two racers to battle on five different tracks, which will be Cakeway, Brownie Beach, Cotton Candy Clouds, Diet Cola Mountain, and Lollipop Lane."

Amos continued, "Each race will last for two laps. The winner will receive four points, 2nd place 3 points, 3rd place 2 points, and 4th place 1 point. The player-created racers may choose to race independently, with the 'newbie' team, or not at all. Five minutes to race, people!"

The two teams quickly gathered to strategize. Vanellope quickly said, "Swizz, Dora, you two have high kart control. You'll race on Brownie Beach. Rancis, Snowy, Cakeway is yours. Jubi and I will take Diet Cola. Jerry, you adapt quickly. You and Candlehead will race on Cotton Candy Clouds . Gloyd and Minty will do Lollipop Lane. Everyone clear?" The racers nodded. "Alright, let's show 'em how fast the 'oldies' really are!"

* * *

Everyone headed out to the first track, Cakeway. Vanellope's team held the advantage as Rancis and Snowanna had raced there hundreds of times. But the outcome of the race would depend on how well the other team's racers could adapt to the long, winding course.

The racers would climb Mount Birthday Cake and jump off through the love letter at the top. They would then wind their way through a narrow valley leading back to the starting line.

As the racers headed towards the starting line, Swizzle whispered to Rancis, "Hey, bro, you still haven't told me how you recovered so quickly!"

Rancis whispered back, "Not now, man! I promise I'll tell you the whole story after this whole thing finishes."

Swizzle sighed in frustration. "Okay, fine, but this wait had better be worth it!"

* * *

_The cybug opened its eyes to bright sunshine. It had become… intelligent. It looked at itself and screeched in surprise! It now possessed incredible size. Its entire body was armored and a row of spikes ran down its back. Its tail had been replaced with a double-bladed scythe, its wings had been upgraded to plasma thrusters. It still retained its ability to transform into what it ate, but had lost its egg-laying capability. It thought, "All in all, that's a small loss. Now, what should I eat first?" It began devouring the Candy Cane Forest on the outskirts of Sugar Rush, turning itself into peppermint…_

* * *

Rancis and Snowanna moved their karts into position and waited to see who they would face. The guest commentator, Taffyta, launched into her spiel. "Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the first ever Showdown Grand Prix! Two teams of racers will battle it out over five tracks for the right to be called the fastest of them all! We're here live at Cakeway, where the first two-lap race will take place. And here are the racers for each side. For the 'Oldies', we have…RANCIS FLUGGERBUTTER and SNOWANNA RAINBEAU!" The crowd burst into cheers.

Taffyta continued, "And for the 'Newbies', CHOCOLATE 'COCO' KISS and GINGY THE GINGERBREAD MAN!"

The two of them were locked in an intense discussion beside their karts, and merely looked up for a moment and waved to acknowledge the crowd, before continuing their rapid-fire conversation. They spoke for a few more seconds before nodding and jumping into their karts.

Taffyta spoke again. "The racers are in position and ready to race. Are you ready, people?"

The crowd screamed ,"YEAH!"

Taffyta, working the crowd, asked again, "ARE YOU READY PEOPLE?"

The crowd bellowed, "YEAAHH!"

The countdown began. "3, 2, 1, GO!"

Taffyta began her running commentary. "It's been a good start for Coco, who has burst into the lead. It appears that Gingy, now running in second, is blocking Rancis and Snowanna from passing and attacking Coco! It looks like that strategy is paying off as the racers start the climb up the mountain. Rancis and Snow are biding their time, waiting for an opportune moment to pass."

"Coco has just hit the love letter ramp, flying toward the valley. A couple of seconds behind, Gingy, Rancis, and Snowanna round the final turn of the mountain and enter the ramp too."

"Coco has put on a stunning performance so far as the newbie roars towards the Sugar Cubes placed at the two-thirds mark of the track. She's picked up…Syrup Slick! She holds on to it and releases it at a sharp left turn. Slick driving indeed. As the chasing trio enter the turn, Gingy and Rancis barely miss it, but Snow isn't so lucky as she spins off! Oooh!"

"Gingy picks up…Cherry Bomb! He tosses it onto the track but Rancis sees it coming and easily dodges it. Rancis picks up…New Item: Lollipop Hammer! This close-range weapon smashes down on opponents, stunning them for a moment. Rancis aims and takes a swing at Gingy, but the Gingerbread Van is well-built."

"It looks to be a straight fight between Gingy and Rancis for second, as Coco flies on, already beginning the second lap. Suddenly, a Sweet Seeker takes her out! It looks to be Snowanna, who has also shot down Gingy and Rancis, chasing hard to come within a second of third-placed Rancis."

"As the second lap begins, Coco still leads, with Gingy in second, Rancis in third, and Snowanna in fourth. Ooohh! Coco tries to begin the climb at high speed and loses control, nearly spinning off the mountain! She still holds a slim lead, though."

Rancis was frustrated. He had been trying to get past Gingy all race long, but the Gingerbread Van was solid and big, not giving him an inch of room. He thought desperately as he began the climb. Suddenly, an idea hit him! He keyed the radio to tell Snowanna his plan. She replied, "Are you sure? It's real risky. You saw what happened to Coco!"

Rancis replied, "Don't worry. Just make sure you're on my tail. It's our only chance!" Snowanna nodded.

They rounded yet another turn before putting their plan into action. Gingy was covering the centre of the track carefully. Rancis accelerated hard, swerving past Gingy on the outside. Gingy moved too late to try to block him, and Snowanna slipped past on the inside. The crowd burst into cheers at the daring and skillful move.

Taffyta cried, "Wow! What a move by Rancis and Snowanna! They've finally made it past Gingy, and Rancis is rampaging closer and closer to Coco! He hits the ramp just behind Coco! Snowanna seems content to hold third place."

"Rancis is pushing Coco hard, and it looks like the Sugar Cubes may decide the winner! Coco picks up… Sugar Surge! She starts picking up speed, opening the gap between her and Rancis! Let's see what Rancis gets… Sweet Seekers! What a chance! He lines up his first shot and fires! A narrow miss as Coco deftly dives round a corner! He aims his second… and misses again! Unbelievable! That was just plain bad aiming from Rancis. Coco accelerates away as fast as she can! Rancis still has one more shot, though…"

Rancis smacked his steering wheel with his palm in disgust. Two consecutive misses! He shook his head and desperately lined up his last shot. He aimed carefully and fired.

Coco saw the last shot coming and accelerated frantically to no avail. She had exited the valley, leaving a straight stretch between her and the finish line, with nowhere to hide. The Sweet Seeker slammed into her, spinning her around! As her head cleared, she saw Rancis closing in on her, determination etched on his face. She quickly stamped on the accelerator, but Rancis swept past her for the win.

Taffyta yelled, "AND RANCIS FLUGGERBUTTER TAKES THE WIN!" She pumped her fist in ecstasy before continuing, "Coco Kiss comes in second place, Snowanna Rainbeau in third, and the Gingerbread Man in fourth. It's an early lead for the O's (Oldies), with six points to the N's (Newbies) four. It's far from over, though, as Coco showed with a masterful drive. Next, we head over to Brownie Beach. Stay tuned…"

* * *

That's right Taffyta! Stay tuned everyone.

Chocolate Kiss belongs to annabre24 (hope you don't mind the nickname Coco).

Stella Citrustwist belongs to BlackRose56.

Hilary Carls' Cane belongs to PsychoMac2.

Rae Ring-Pop belongs to RobinsInTheSkye.

Hey, by the way, let me know if you prefer the races written this way (with a commentator) or like I did previously (third person view/description).

Lastly, please please **please** review! A small effort from you but great happiness for me... *puppy eyes*

Thank you everyone! JarrettSoon out...


	15. Good News

A big hello to all my readers! I know I've been away from this story for awhile, and I'm really sorry for making you wait. Anyway, here's the next chapter! Enjoy! And here's my reply to your reviews for chapters 14 and 15:

_RobinsonSiblings_: Yeah, exactly how I'd imagine her too. Rancis' recovery? Well, here it is.

_annabre24_: Thanks for your compliments! The cybug: well, I guess it was eating candy cane trees…they aren't picky eaters ;-) Thanks again!

_PsychoMac2_: If you want him to be just Carls' Cane, that's fine. Thanks for your positive review!

_Kam XD_: Sorry to hear that. Maybe I could put them in as ordinary racers (without the fighting and other tough stuff)? I wouldn't be able to write them well if I tried to add everything you put in (just not my style). I encourage you to give fanfics a shot. I never thought I'd do well, until I started this story!

_BlackRose56_: I know how you feel!

_SpongeBob Man_: Thanks for your review, but that's not how the story's gonna go.

_SargeCalhoun64_: Amen to that! Thanks for reviewing!

_MistyMayDawnStar_: Thanks! So you like TaffyButter? Then you might enjoy this chapter.

_Guest_: Here's a little bit of that Crumbelina x Gloyd…

_Caleb4SPARTA_: Thanks man!

_Angels' Best Friend_: Thanks! Other characters; I'm not too sure. A race between Sonic and Sugar Rush sounds awesome; I may try a one-shot of that, but you're right; as things stand it would be unfair.

_bri.h123:_ *rubs hands together gleefully* Oh-ho!

_Simonbob 11_: Thanks for your OC and review!

Whew, that's almost everyone! Thanks for all your awesome reviews; they really make my day. Anyway, enough babbling from me; to the story!

* * *

**Good News**

"Man, that was an awesome race-off!" Swizzle exclaimed, downing a swig of root beer. The racers had all gone out to celebrate at Tapper's after the end of the Showdown GP.

"I'll say! Talk about taking it to the wire!" Jubileena squealed.

"And Gloyd's overtaking move! Oh my gosh! Hey Swizz, if you're not careful, Gloyd's gonna dethrone you as the daredevil of Sugar Rush!" Snowanna gushed.

"That's my Gloyd, all right!" Crumbelina smiled fondly, giving him a peck on the cheek, making him blush slightly.

"Ahh, it wasn't that big," Gloyd said, rubbing his arm self-consciously.

"Yeah, you only tied and won the GP for your team!" Barry joked.

The 'newbies' had dominated the second race at Brownie Beach; Barry and Amos completely destroying the Swizz and Adorabeezle. The 'oldies' clawed back a bit of ground at Diet Cola Mountain; Vanellope leading home Rae Ring-Pop and Carls' Cane.

The real surprise came at Cotton Candy Clouds, the cute Kristin Jellybean stunning nearly everyone with her rocket-powered tricycle. She had managed to outrace even Jerry, whom everyone considered the favorite due to his high speed and skilful racing.

The fifth race had seen Gloyd and Minty lining up against the twins, Honey and Maple O'Sweetie. The oldies were trailing with 19 points to the newbies' 21. With their backs to the wall, Gloyd produced a flawless drive, overtaking the twins late on to grab the win. Minty had also driven well, holding third despite Maple's challenge.

In the end, the points were tied 25 to 25. Upon discussion, the newer racers conceded the GP due to the oldies' superior win count, 3 to 2. They then all headed down to Tapper's for a celebration.

Amid the laughter and banter, Swizzle elbowed his way to Rancis' side. "So, Butterfingers, what's your story? You said you'd tell me after the GP!"

"Just for that name, I won't tell you," Rancis pouted.

"Aww, come on, Flugs. Even I don't know the whole story yet!" Taffyta wheedled. Rancis sighed.

"All right then. But it's going to take awhile," Rancis warned.

Swizzle quickly spread the word among the Sugar Rush racers, and they quickly gathered around.

"Well, most of you know that I was knocked unconscious in a crash involving most of the roster just before the data transfer," Rancis began. "Apparently, I was out for a few hours. When I woke up, Jerry was… well, I think he should tell this part."

Jerry smiled and took up the story. "I visited Rancis and Taffyta in the hospital. I had a short talk with Taffyta before, well…she-" He grimaced. "Never mind about that, first. After the doctor stabilized her, I moved over to Rancis' bed, while he was still unconscious. And then…"

"Then what?" Jubileena begged.

"Then, Rancis woke up. Miraculously, I must say." A voice said from behind the racers. They all turned to see Dr. Hershey smiling at them.

"Dr. Hershey! It's so good to see you!" Rancis exclaimed. "Tapper! A couple of root beers for the good doctor, on me!" he called.

Dr. Hershey took a sip of the root beer and sighed. "It's good to get out. Thanks, Rancis."

"You took such good care of me and Taff; this is but a small token of thanks!" Rancis replied.

"So, Doctor, what really happened?" Jubileena asked again. "Why do you say Rancis' getting up was miraculous?"

"Rancis sustained cranial injuries, internal hemorrhaging and various external lacerations. Medically speaking, his recovery was nothing short of a miracle." Dr. Hershey explained.

"Um, what's the English translation of what he just said?" Candlehead whispered, a little too loudly.

Dr. Hershey smiled. "I'm sorry. Rancis hurt his head, his body, and got quite a few cuts."

"So if it was medically impossible, how did that happen?" Gloyd asked quizzically.

"Jerry?" Everyone looked back at the gummy-themed racer.

"I… prayed."

A 'huh?' was the collective response.

"I prayed, and asked God to wake Rancis and Taffyta up. It would have been too risky to fiddle around with their code with them unconscious." Jerry said, a little shyly.

He continued, "Then I headed over to the code vault. Several strings of code were hanging loose from Rancis' code box. I tried reattaching them, but that didn't quite work. I asked for God's help again, and this time it worked."

"But Taffyta's code wasn't quite so simple to repair. Dr. Hershey showed up, but even with us putting our heads together we weren't able to do much. Her code has sustained some serious damage. We were able to stabilize it some, but we're unsure if she can race again. So there you have it."

Everyone had quietened down after the story. The racers had just heard amazing news about Rancis, but Taffyta's situation had sobered everyone. Well, everyone except one jealous little racer…

They dispersed in twos and threes, talking as they headed back to their game. Dr. Hershey kept an eye on Rancis, who was relatively quiet despite Jerry and Swizzle's attempt to draw him out.

"Rancis, can I talk to you for just a moment?" Dr. Hershey suddenly said.

"Uh, sure." Jerry and Swizzle respectfully kept walking.

"Son, I couldn't bear to see your face any longer. Taffyta has been cleared to race." Rancis' eyes lit up.

"But, I want her to take it easy. It might be a good idea to take her out for a spin tomorrow, maybe go see some new scenery, before the next Roster Race," the doctor concluded.

"Thank you!" Rancis cried, throwing his arms round the rotund doctor before rushing off.

Dr. Hershey just stood in the middle of Game Central Station, a bemused look on his face as he watched Rancis run joyfully back to Sugar Rush. "_I really got to get out more,_" he thought.

* * *

Hey everyone, I was advised that I was detouring from the main plot too much (thanks crankyman7), so I skipped the Showdown GP. Here's the finishing order for all five races:

Cakeway:

Rancis

Coco

Snow

Gingy

Brownie Beach:

Barry

Amos

Swizz

Dora

Diet Cola Mountain:

Vanellope

Rae

Carls' Cane

Jubi

Cotton Candy Clouds:

Jelly

Jerry

Candle

Stella

Lollipop Lane:

Gloyd

Honey

Minty

Maple

Thanks for reading and please review! 100 reviews by this chapter, please? *wide puppy eyes*

Shalom and God bless from JarrettSoon!


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